Unbroken
by Nightblade223
Summary: A young Khajiit girl travels to Skyrim in hopes of a better life than her last. She soon shall discover that this may not be true...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! Nightblade here! This is my first fanfiction ever, and I hope you like it. **

**Also, Skyrim belongs to Bethesda Softworks, not me, and I only own Khazura.**

Chapter 1: Unfortunate Predicaments

A slight rocking awoke a young girl. She was in the back of a wagon and wasn't supposed to be there.

" Hey, you! You're finally awake." said a strange man.

The girl looked around at the other people in the moving wagon. A soldier from the Stormcloak rebellion, a well-dressed man who was gagged, and another man in rags, covered in filth. All were bound in leather strips tied tightly, and well knotted.

" You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there." The soldier asked, while motioning towards the man next to him.

" Damn you, Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine until you came along! Empire was nice and lazy! If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and be halfway to Hammerfell." He growled towards the soldier.

He looked at the girl and muttered, " You there. You and me- we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." The soldier said.

An irritated Imperial that was driving the cart yapped to shut up, but none of the prisoners paid him any mind. They were all probably being sent to their deaths so it didn't matter anyways. The thief then noticed that the well-dressed man hadn't said a word, or grunted, since he had a gag in his mouth.

"What's wrong with him, huh?" He snickered.

"Watch you're tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King." The soldier snapped.

"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you!" the thief's face then twisted into terror. " Oh gods, where are they taking us?"

The girl rolled her eyes, obviously already knowing they were heading towards intended doom.

"I don't know, but Sovengarde awaits."

"No! This can't be happening. This isn't happening." The thief cried out.

"Well, it is so you better get used to it. Not that it will matter soon, though." The girl muttered.

"What's you're name, girl? Mine is Ralof." The soldier rumbled.

"None of your concern. I was only crossing the border from Cyrodiil to go get a better life. So much for that, and they thought I was a murderer, one from the Imperial City. Yes, a thirteen year old being a murderer." She said bitterly.

Turning to the thief, Ralof asked, " What village are you from, horse thief?"

"Rorikstead. I'm… I'm from Rorikstead."

As they grew closer, they heard an Imperial soldier shout to the General of the Legion, and they heard something along the lines of, "Good. Let's get this over with."

The girl then saw the Thalmor, and she hissed. _Bloody elves, trying to control everything_. She thought. _At least I won't see those foul creatures again._

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me!" The thief pleaded.

"This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in." Ralof sighed.

The cart then began to slow, and the girl heard a young boy, about seven, say, "Who are they, daddy?"

"Go inside, little cub."

"But I want to watch the soldiers!" he whined.

_You don't want to watch this,_ the girl thought. _It's a beheading, by the looks of it._

"Go inside."

"Why are we stopping?" the thief asked.

"Why do you think? End of the line. Let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."

"No! Wait, we're not rebels!" the thief said.

"Face your death with some courage, thief." Ralof stated.

"You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake!"

They all stepped off of the wagons, and stood stoically waiting for their names to be called.

"Damn Imperials, and their lists." Ralof sighed.

The soldiers began calling out names and sending Stormcloaks towards the chopping block. After most of the names had been called, the thief stepped forward.

"Lokir, of Rorikstead."

"No! You can't do this! You're not gonna kill me!" Lokir wailed.

"Halt!" An Imperial officer screamed. "Archers!"

Lokir was easily shot down, and his death quelled the others' wants to run away.

"Anyone else feel like running?" The woman snickered.

"You there, in the shadows. Step forward."

The girl quietly padded forward and stood in front of the Imperial calling out names.

"You're barely even a woman! No, wait. You aren't even a woman! Who are you?" The surprised man asked.

"Khazura. And I am thirteen! Leave me alone…" she snapped.

"You with the caravans, cat? Your kind always seem to find trouble…" He turned to his superior.

"Captain, what do we do? She's not on the list." The man asked.

"Forget the list. She goes to the block." The captain sneered.

"I'm sorry. Your remains will be returned to Elsweyr. Follow the Captain, girl." He said, somberly.

Khazura slowly turned and was lead to her spot next to the others waiting for death. General Tullius, the Governor of the Imperial Legion, began saying something about Ulfric Stormcloak plunging Skyrim into chaos, and other nonsense.

An unworldly roar shook the earth and prisoners and soldiers all stared at the sky. Khazura flattened her ears, and dug her nails into her palms to help bear the awful noise.

The soldier who was calling off names asked, "What, was that?"

"It was nothing. Carry on." The General said.

"Yes General Tullius! Give them their last rites." The woman ordered a priestess.

"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our belove-" she started.

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with!" a Stormcloak snarled as he stalked towards the block.

"As you wish." The priestess grumbled, irritated at this upstart.

"Come on! I haven't got all morning!" the soldier grated.

Khazura growled a curse about foolish Nords and their religious ways, and stared as the man allowed the Captain to harshly put him to the ground. He was stupid.

"My ancestors are smiling at me Imperials. Can you say the same?" the soldier sneered.

With that, Khazura watched as the headsman's axe came down and cut the man's head off with a thud. Blood shot everywhere, on the blade, block, and ground. She gulped and looked away; for that was the fate she would share with every other prisoner there.

"You Imperial bastards!" a soldier shouted.

"Death to the Stormcloaks!" said a civilian onlooker.

"As fearless in death as he was in life." Ralof murmured.

"Next, the cat!" the Captain ordered.

"Oh, are you not aware that my race is called Khajiit?" Khazura called.

Suddenly, the obscene roar came again.

"There it is again! Did you hear that?" the soldier said.

"I said, next prisoner!"

"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy." The soldier muttered, as if to calm her.

Khazura blanched, and slowly walked to her death. Her eyes dilated in fear, and she hissed as she saw the blood caked in the earth.

"You afraid, cat?" the Captain laughed.

She pushed Khazura onto the ground, and Khazura closed her eyes. She opened them and silently screamed as the axe came down. But it never came.

"What in Oblivion is that?" screamed General Tullius.

A dark, ominous, black shape flew closer to the town of Helgen.

"Dragon!" the guards shrieked.

The dragon landed on the tower above Khazura, and roared a fiery storm into place. Dazed, Khazura wobbled and slowly rose to her feet. She ran for cover as rubble erupted around her. She didn't wait to run up the stairs of the tower, and the dragon burst into the wall breathing the horrible acrid fire everywhere. She was only alive because she was slammed to the side since Ralof saved her.

"Thanks." She said shakily.

"No problem." He said.

She jumped out of the hole in the wall, and landed in fire. She coughed as smoke filled her lungs, and she clawed her way onto normal ground. Khazura soon jumped again, to find herself surrounded by other people. One of the Imperial soldiers, who had apologized to her, was there. She spat and ran past him, not paying any attention to where she was going.

"Yol… Toor… Shul!" the black dragon Shouted. " Zu'u Alduin! Feyn se joore! Dir, ahrk daal wah Sovengarde!

She ran under the dragon and screamed for life, cursing the gods for giving her a worse end than before. The Dragon spun and she leaped away from it, but he was too quick, and landed a bite on her foot. Khazura screamed and thought her foot was gone. But the dragon was gone, not her foot. She scrambled up and launched into a sprint for the keep. She didn't stop, or look back until she found herself with Ralof safe inside.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Panting, she steadied herself against the wall. She gasped, and gazed at her bleeding foot. It had been scratched, but not bitten off, or punctured.

"Yes. I think so. Oh, gods, I don't know!" she squawked.

"Here, take this armor. Poor Gunjar won't be needing it anymore." Ralof said, while handing her some Stormcloak gear.

"Gods. Is there a potion around here?" Khazura asked.

"Here, I found one on Gunjar. Hope your foot is okay. Taking a dragon on like that was reckless, you know."

"I know!" she snapped. " And I wasn't taking it on. I was running away!"

"Sorry."

"Humph." Khazura muttered.

"We need to get out of here." Ralof announced.

He walked over to a gate and said that it was locked. No chance at finding a key either.

"What about that other gate?" he called.

Khazura walked over to it, and said, "It can only be opened from the other side. I guess we're gonna die here. How fun."

Her ears perked up, and she hissed. She bared her claws and crouched, wincing when she put weight on her bad foot.

"There are Imperials coming. Gods, their armor is loud." Khazura spat.

"Get down!" Ralof whispered.

"I am!" she mouthed.

As they crouched, the Imperials ran closer. They approached the gate and opened it, unaware of the danger lurking behind. They ran in, and were attacked, and were no match since they had no time to draw their weapons. Khazura slashed and scratched at the Captain and sent her to her grave. She noticed a key on the dead Captain's belt and she snatched it up and put it in a pouch in her armor.

"Maybe one of these Imperials have a key." Ralof said.

"Already one step ahead of you!" Khazura grinned, flashing the key at Ralof.

"Well done, little girl."

"Hey! I just saved your life!" She growled, eyes flashing.

"I'm joking! Gods…" Ralof sputtered.

They continued on, and they found a storeroom, and quickly dispatched the Imperials in there. Khazura stocked up on potions, and also food, so they kept moving on. They came to a torture room, and Khazura growled at the main torturer.

"Die, scum!" the torturer shrieked.

She clawed at his eyes, but he had the advantage of a dagger, and slashed a long cut alongside her arm. Khazura grabbed him by the neck, and thwacked his head on the wall. He moved no more. She sat up, noticed that there were other soldiers in the room, and she helped one of them kill the torturer's assistant.

"Good riddance." She muttered, and spat on his corpse.

"Hey! Was Jarl Ulfric through here?" Ralof asked the remaining soldiers.

"No. I thought he was with others."

"Khazura, there is something in this cage! See if you can get the gold from it." Ralof said, handing her some lockpicks.

She smiled, and went over to the cage, and opened it in no time. She pulled out the Septims, and also the magicka potion. The tome she read in a rush, for it might come in handy.

"I'm ready!" she said.

They trekked on, and found themselves surrounded by Imperials. Khazura flattened her ears and went over to a couple of soldiers by an oil spill. She caught their attention and made them slip in the oil, since they ran out to her onto the oil, and she threw a nearby torch, creating a blaze.

"Smart thinking, girl." Said Ralof.

The pair crossed the bridge and waded into the trickling stream. They followed it and branched off into a spider lair.

"Quiet! There are terrible spiders here…" Khazura whispered.

She shot them with her newly acquired bow, from a dead soldier, and they twitched and wiggled in their death.

"Ugh. I hate spiders!" she said, turning up her nose.

They crept past, and she bottled some poison, thinking it would be useful for later. Slowly, she inched towards into a new cavern. She slinked towards a cart full of mead, and she grabbed a coin purse for later use. Khazura noticed a bear and drew her bow. A hard battle won, had the young Khajiit sweating and grimacing from her new wounds. Fresh air caught her nose and she sprinted into the daylight-filled crevice and into the open.

**So! How'd I do? Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading anyways. Also R&R if you loved it, hated it, or were just okay with it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Woohoo! Chapter 2! R&R when you're done, if you want.**

**Oh, and I don't own Skyrim, only my Khazura. Hope you like it! **

Chapter 2: A New Life

Khazura inhaled the pure, clean air and smiled. She stretched and inspected her cuts, when she heard Ralof tramp out into the open.

"Feels good to be free, right?" Khazura grinned.

"Get down! That thing is still here!" Ralof shouted.

She crouched, and dove behind a rock, alongside Ralof. Khazura shuddered as the dragon roared and flew with strong wing beats away from them.

" By Talos! I wonder where that devil beast came from!" Ralof stated, amazed.

" I don't know and I don't wanna know… For I all I care it can rot in Oblivion." Khazura muttered.

"Well, we should get a move on. My sister lives nearby in a town called Riverwood. She should help us with supplies and a good bed." Ralof said.

"Fine. But I want to get there soon. My foot aches." She whined.

The two set out, and soon Khazura heard a rushing river. There were three strange stones jutting out of the ground, up above the river on a hill by the road. The stones had carvings in them, and a hole in their center.

"What are those? Why do they have holes in them?" Khazura questioned Ralof.

He replied, "The stones? Those are called standing stones, but these ones are called the Guardian stones. Each gives you a power. The warrior grants you better skill at melee skills, the mage over magic skills, and thief over stealth skills. I chose warrior when I was about your age. Go ahead, pick one."

Khazura walked over to the stones, and pondered her choices. _Fighting would be useful; magic I don't excel at so that's a definite no, but the thief… I think that would_ _benefit me most_. She thought.

"What do I do to activate it?" Khazura asked.

"I don't know. Just walk to the one you want and place your hand on it, I guess. That's what I did."

She placed her hand on the Thief, and suddenly a pale blue light shot into the sky. The hole in the center lit up with a glow, and the carving of the constellation shone brightly.

"What the hell?" She shrieked trying to pull her hand away, but found it was stuck.

After the stone went out, she felt strangely the same. She looked around and grumbled, thinking it had no affect on her.

"Why didn't it do anything? I don't feel any different." She complained.

"Oh, it worked. If it hadn't the stone wouldn't have lit up. But the Thief? Why that one? And I know it's not just because you are a Khajiit."

"It will help me with sneaking around. I just picked it, that's all."

He shrugged and continued walking down the path. Khazura scurried off after him, and had to walk fast to keep up with his long strides. The grass was extremely green, thick and luscious, she noticed, and that there was an abundance of vegetation everywhere. Yipping with glee she jumped to catch an overhead butterfly. The creature flitted out of her reach and she scowled.

"Stupid insect. It's not like I was going to kill it…" She muttered.

"It's not stupid. And-"

"Shut up! There are three wolves over there…" Khazura interjected, while motioning towards a cluster of pines.

"How do you know? Oh, right you have better hearing and smell."

Ralof readied his axe, while Khazura bared her claws and yowled as a wolf burst out of a shrub. Ralof swung his axe, cutting the wolf's jugular and it lay on the ground, lifeblood pouring out of its neck. Khazura kicked her enemy and scratched its ear, missing her intended target of its eye. The wolf snarled, and she showed her teeth to it, and leapt again, this time snapping its spine.

"Hold on, Khazura!" Ralof shouted as he finished off the third wolf.

"It's alright! I got it already." She explained.

"You have some wicked claws. But you should consider a sword, or at least a dagger." He said.

"Alright. Maybe when we get to this Riverwood, I can make myself one."

They ran down the path, and Khazura caught sight of a small village. She sprinted past Ralof, and slipped on a rock.

"Did you just fall? On a rock? And I thought you could take on that dragon…" Ralof joked as he caught up with her.

"No, I attacked the ground. Of course I fell, idiot!" Khazura snapped.

"Well, this is Riverwood. Over there is my sister." Ralof said, completely unfazed by her rude remark. " Hey, Gerdur! We need to talk!"

"Ralof? Brother! Mara's mercy, it's good to see you!" a middle-aged woman, bearing a strong resemblance to Ralof, said.

"But is it safe for you to be here? We heard that Ulfric had been captured…" Gerdur asked.

"Wait… Are you hurt? What happened? Tell me, Ralof."

"Gerdur… Gerdur, I'm fine. At least now I am. You wouldn't believe me If I told you." Ralof answered.

"And who's this child? One of your… comrades? She's too young to be a Stormcloak." Gerdur prodded.

"Not a comrade, but a friend. I owe her my life, in fact. Is there somewhere we can talk? There's no telling when news about Helgen will reach the Imperials…"

"What? Helgen? But you're right. Follow me."

Gerdur walked past the wood mill to a spot by the river. She stood by a tree and Ralof sat on a tree stump. Exhausted, Khazura followed Ralof's lead and sat cross-legged on the tree stump right beside him.

Gerdur called out to a man, presumably her husband, " Hod! Come here a minute. I need your help with something."

Hod replied, "What is it, woman? Sven drunk on the job again?"

"Hod! Just get down here!" Gerdur yelled.

"Ralof? What are you doing here? Ah… I'll be right down!"

A kid, about eight, ran up to Ralof and exclaimed, " Uncle Ralof! Can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?"

"Hush, Frodnar. This is no time for games. Go watch the south road. Come and get us if you see any Imperial scum coming." Gerdur ordered.

"Aw, Mama. I just wanted to talk with Uncle Ralof!"

"Look at you, almost a grown man! Won't be long before you'll be joining the fight yourself." Ralof grinned.

"That's right! Don't worry, Uncle! I won't let soldiers sneak up on you!" Frodnar beamed.

Hod strode toward, crossed his thickly muscled arms and asked, " Now, Ralof, what's going on? You two look pretty well done in."

Ralof wearily sighed, " I can't remember when I last slept. Where to start? Well k the news you heard about Ulfric was true. The Imperials ambushed us outside Darkwater Crossing. Like they knew exactly where we'd be… That was… two days ago, now. We stopped in Helgen this morning, and I thought it was all over. Had us lined up to the headsman's block and ready to start chopping. In fact, little gray cat over here was next."

"The cowards! And to kill such a youngster!" Gerdur gasped.

"They wouldn't dare give Ulfric a fair trial. Treason, for fighting for your own people! All of Skyrim would have seen the truth then. But then… out of nowhere… a dragon attacked!" Ralof exclaimed.

"You don't mean… a real live…" Gerdur whispered.

"I can hardly believe it myself, and I was there. As strange as it sounds, we'd be dead if not for that dragon. In the confusion, we managed to slip away. Are we really the first to make it to Riverwood?"

"No one else has been here, as far as I can tell." Gerdur told.

"Good. Maybe we can lay up for a while. I hate to put your family in danger, but…" Ralof started.

"Nonsense. You and your friend are welcome to stay. Let me worry about the Imperials."

"Thanks, sister." Ralof cheerily spoke.

Khazura grimaced and stood. She stalked over the bridge and practically flew to the forge. She had roughly skinned the wolves they had fought, and began tanning the leather. After she was finished she began working on a set of small armor. Khazura worked like a madman, but she needed to have a good fit of armor, not an irritating set that rubbed her fur the wrong way.

Hours later, she had created a pair of boots, gauntlets, and a cuirass. She had ducked behind the house that was connected to the forge and pulled on the armor. Her face broke into a grin for her armor had fit just fine.

"Hey, what will you take for these?" Khazura spoke to Alvor, holding up the Stormcloak gear.

Gruffly, he looked them over. "I'll give you 50 Septims for the whole. And I'll give you some leather and ingots to make a helmet and dagger."

"Deal. But not leather for a helmet." Khazura explained, pointing to her ears.

She worked fast, making a crude iron dagger, but she didn't care. It would be a backup for her, using claws as a first resort.

Khazura went and talked a bit with Gerdur, getting supplies since she wasn't staying the night.

"There is one thing you could do for me. The Jarl at the top of the hill needs to know if there is a dragon on the loose." Gerdur said, rubbing her chin.

"Okay. And can I have some potions, just in case?" Khazura queried.

"Sure. You sure you don't want to stay for the night?"

"Positive."

"Alright. You should say bye to Ralof, girl. He did help you." Gerdur sternly said.

Khazura turned and swiftly made her way over to Ralof. She really didn't see why she needed to say farewell, after all she wasn't friends with him, only acquaintances. Khazura snorted and thought _I don't have any friends. They only end up hurting you._

"Goodbye, Ralof." Khazura muttered, and spun around to leave.

Ralof grabbed her shoulder and she turned and bit his hand. "Ow, girl! I helped you. Gods! Just go cat! Maybe I'll see you around."

" I was already leaving!" she spat.

Khazura turned and sprinted off, past the bridge and only stopped to kill a wolf quickly. She stopped after that, breathing hard. The sky was beginning to darken. She decided that she needed to get to town before the sun went down, and she would be left all alone, cold and hungry. Khazura started off towards a farm when she heard sounds of commotion and she saw a giant. _A real giant! I'd be squashed in_ _an instant!_ She thought. Khazura whipped out her bow and shot an arrow and it hit the giant in the leg. _Damn, I only just made it mad!_ However, there were three warriors there, and they quickly cut the giant down.

"You handle yourself well. You could make for a decent Shield-Sister." A large Nord woman with green striped war paint stated.

"A Shield-Sister?" Khazura asked.

"An outsider, eh? Never heard of the Companions? An order of warriors. We are brothers and sisters in honor. And we show up to solve problems if the coin is good enough. And my name is Aela." The woman said.

"Can I join you?"

"Not for me to say. Kodlak Whitemane is in Jorrvaskr, who can tell you. Hope to see you around."

Khazura nodded, and started off. She walked past a stable, and continued up the road and crossed a drawbridge. She mused, that the drawbridge was supposed to be brought up, but the wear on the thing spoke otherwise.

"Halt. No one is allowed inside for fear of dragons." A guard commanded.

She snorted and spoke, " Riverwood calls for aid."

"Riverwood's in danger, too? All right, you can come in." the guard sighed.

She slipped in-between the two doors, and gazed at the town. A woman, a blacksmith by the amount of soot on her was bickering with a haughty looking Imperial-supporting Nord.

"Wow. How am I supposed to find anything here? It's so complex." Khazura breathed.

She walked over to a guard and asked, "Where is Jorrvaskr?"

"Jorrvaskr? Like a slip of a girl like you will get in. It's up by the Gildergreen tree. Oh, and the tree is huge and dead. You'll know it."

"Thanks, I suppose." She muttered.

Khazura walked past the market stalls, ignoring all of the merchant's hawking off their goods. She saw the Gildergreen and noticed a strange upturned boat building. She sighed, and thought, _maybe that is Jorrvaskr_. Khazura stopped once she reached the building, and then pushed the door open.

"Are those two at it again?" a stern looking man growled.

Startled, she pressed against the wall and flattened her ears. Hissing she crept around until she found stairs leading downwards. _It's worth a try_… she thought.

Khazura continued downstairs and wandered around looking for someone, but everyone was upstairs. She concentrated on listening for some sign of humans talking, and there! Two men speaking, well, more like arguing. Khazura scampered towards the voices, and stopped in front of the doorway.

"I still feel the call of the blood." The first man said.

"We all do. It's our burden to bear." The second lumbered.

She chose to walk in and speak to the older man.

"A stranger comes to our hall." He spoke.

"I assume you are Kodlak Whitemane, and I wish to join the Companions." Khazura chirped.

"Hmm. Perhaps. Yes, you have a certain strength of spirit."

The first man protested, "Master, you can't seriously be considering her. She is just a child!"

Kodlak interrupted and calmly said, "Vilkas, I am no one's master. And last I checked there was some empty beds in Jorrvaskr with those who have fire in their hearts."

Vilkas continued his tirade, "But I have never even heard of this outsider-"

"Sometimes the famous come to us, and sometimes men and women come to us to seek their fame."

"Also, her arm matters…" Vilkas muttered.

"Of course. How are you in battle, girl?" Kodlak rumbled.

"I can handle myself." She snapped, irritated that they were talking as if she wasn't there.

"That may be. Vilkas, take her out to the yard."

Vilkas growled, and rose to his feet.

"Come on, girl. I won't wait for you."

She trotted after him, and stuck her tongue out at his head.

"Stupid skeever-brain." She muttered.

"Keep up! If you continue to act like a child- wait! You are a child. I don't see why Kodlak will even try to accept you…" He sneered.

Infuriated, she stormed off after him. They went upstairs and out to the training yard, where many people were watching the two. Her hackles rose, for she was nervous with all of the spectators.

"Alright. Take a swing at me with that pinprick of a thing you call a dagger. And don't worry, I can take it." Vilkas taunted.

She only drew up her arms, and called to him, "I don't even have to use a dagger. Look how you cower before my claws."

Vilkas snorted and rolled his eyes. He then charged her and she quickly jumped back.

"Scared, girl? It's not too late to back out…"

Khazura swung her fists and caught him in the stomach. She hissed and scratched his cheek, and then twirled around as his sword almost cut her arm. She ducked and then struck out at his neck, but he blocked with his sword.

He stopped her and said, " Good enough. Go and take my sword up to Eorlund Grey-mane up at the Skyforge, whelp. Oh, and be careful, it's worth more than you are."

"What-" she started.

"GO!" he shouted.

Just after her battle she hear Skjor, a man with one good eye, complain to Aela about youngsters.

"All these youngsters running about." Skjor said to Aela.

"Worried they'll take your place?" She smirked.

"No. They could get killed." He said, directing a pointed look at Khazura.

While hoisting the large weapon up, she carried it gently up to this 'Skyforge'. There was only one man there, and she assumed it was Eorlund.

"Hello? Vilkas told me to bring this to you…"

"Ah, good. Are you new?" Eorland asked.

"Yes. Does Vilkas always make you do his dirty work, that he is 'too good to do'?" Khazura inquired.

"Don't worry. You don't have to do everything they tell you, they don't have a leader anyways.. And all of them were whelps too, once."

"How do they do without a real leader then?"

He sighed, "I don't know. But they do. Here, can you take this shield to Aela the Huntress?"

"Didn't you just tell me not to do everything I'm told?" She grinned.

"Oh, I'm not a Companion… so yes, you do." Eorlund frowned.

"Yeah, I guess."

Taking the shield, she traveled over to Jorrvaskr and went inside. Carrying it downstairs, she looked around and asked the maid Tilma if Aela was near.

"Oh, yes dear. She's just past Kodlak's quarters. You'll hear bickering inside and that's how you'll know it's her quarters." Tilma replied.

"Thanks Tilma!" Khazura called over her shoulder.

Trotting into the room aloud with a quarrel, she set the shield on Aela's bed.

"Saw this one in the yard training with Vilkas." Skjor grunted.

"Gave him quite the beating, I hear." Aela laughed.

"Don't let him hear you say that." Skjor warned her.

"How do you think you could handle him in a real fight?" Aela questioned.

" I don't care for boasting." Khazura told her.

"Ah! A woman who let's her actions speak for her. I knew there was something I liked about you…"

"She should go get acquainted with everyone, Aela…" Skjor growled.

"Alright, Skjor. Just watch how you speak to her, okay? Anyways…" Aela gently berated him.

"Hey, Ice-brain!" Aela shouted.

"Did you call me?" A man ran to Aela's command.

"Of course we did, Farkas. Show the newblood where to sleep."

"Alright." Farkas turned and began walking to a separate part of the downstairs quarters.

"Aela and Skjor treat us roughly, but they're good people. They are only trying to train us well."

"That's… that's good, I guess." Khazura replied, unsure of what to say.

"It's nice to have a new face around here. It gets boring with the same people. Ah, here we are. This is where you'll rest your head. Just pick a bed and fall in it."

"Ah, thanks… I am so tired. I had the most interesting day of my life. So, if it's all right I'm-" She yawned. "Going to bed now."

Khazura found a bed in the corner; also she had picked the most cleanly, and curled up and dreamt of peace. She welcomed the black arms of oblivion taking her to safety.

**Well! That's Chapter 2. Oh, and when I said arms of oblivion, I didn't mean the planes of Oblivion. (Just putting that out there…) R&R people!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Eh****… Chapter 3. My fingers hurt.**

**Again, I don't own Skyrim, only my Khazura. Oh, and the first part of this chapter is kind of boring. I really didn't have any ideas. Sorry. Oh, and the first part is in first-person, and the italics is Khazura's dream. Sorry bout the confusion. Hopes that clears everything up.**

Chapter 3: Insane Events

_Khazura's POV_

_It was dark. I looked all around and I didn't know where I was. Roars reverberated around, and I cried out, flattening my ears to help reduce the pain. I heard loud swishing, like the noise the dragon from Helgen made with its wings. Oh gods, the dragon from Helgen. Two pinpoints of red the same color of blood glared at me and a black maw swallowed me up. I had tried to run, but found I was frozen in fear. A malicious, grating laugh chilled my very bones._

" Dreh hi dahmaan Alduin, kaaz?" the dragon roared. "Muz neh vodah wruth bah!"

_What the hell? Did it just… make sense? Do… do you know… no, knows not right! no, it's... remember… Alduin? By the Divines I can understand it… sort of. And what was the last part? Men fear my wrath? Oh well…_

"Nu hi los hin rek! Geh, kos aan dovah!"

_Know yourself! Yes, be a dragon! Is that what it said? Oh gods, I have gone insane. _

"Fine. Must I tinvaak in your… language? Very well, mortal. Know this. I shall devour your sil, soul, when the time comes." It laughed, undoubtedly knowing of my terror.

_I saw a black outline against the other shadows and it shot closer, until a fiery death awaited me. I screamed and tried to run but-_

_No POV _

"Wake up! WAKE UP!" shouted Farkas.

"Don't touch me!" Khazura screamed.

"What is wrong with the child? Having nightmares of her battle with me from yesterday?" Vilkas snarled as he walked into the quarters.

"We all woke up to screaming, and she was thrashing about in her bed. I don't know what happened to her. She then started screeching about fire and a black death. I don't know." Njada, one of the other newbloods explained.

"Is everyone in here?" Skjor asked, " I see Athis, Torvar, Njada, and Tilma. Oh, Aela, Vilkas, Farkas, the little cat, but not the old man."

"Stop. You don't know anything. You… you weren't there." Khazura shakily said.

"Weren't where?" Farkas demanded.

"Helgen." She said weakly.

"What? Oh gods! You? You where there? How?" Farkas sputtered.

"I was caught crossing into Skyrim from Cyrodiil for a new life. At least, last I had checked that wasn't a crime. But they just wanted to kill me for discovering their little… executions." She said numbly. " I had been knocked out and carted away to my intended death. I woke up in a wagon, and when we reached Helgen, we were to be killed. All of us. The thief, he ran and got shot down, and that soldier's head gone, and I!" she rushed.

"Go on." Farkas nudged.

"I was next. I was pushed to the ground and then the axe swung down. But it didn't finish its course, for a dragon interrupted it. In fact, that all happened yesterday. It… bit me on the foot. The dragon I mean. Look for yourselves." Khazura said, pointing to her foot.

"Divines! We need a healer!" Aela shouted. Someone called back and said they would go get one.

Khazura slumped backwards and Aela caught her before she hit the ground.

"Put her on the bed, Aela. A healer will be here soon. No need to mother her." Skjor grunted.

"No need to mother her? I am not! And she has a dragon bite! I don't think you understand, Skjor. A dragon bite! You haven't even gone through that." Aela screamed.

"Aela, lower your voice." Skjor ordered.

"Yes, Skjor…"

A healer then burst forth into the room and hurried over to the little khajiit.

"Hmm… young girl. What's wrong with her?" the healer asked.

"Her foot was bitten by a dragon." Aela exclaimed.

Growing pale, the healer then grabbed health potions from his satchel. Uncorking them, he tilted Khazura's head back and slightly opened her mouth to pour the potion's contents down her throat. She coughed, spraying the herbal potion everywhere. She sat up, rubbing at her eyes. Opening them, she peered at the healer.

"What was that? It tasted awful…" Khazura choked out.

"A healing potion. Now, lie back down and get some rest. I'm surprised you haven't gone through extreme shock trauma. You're lucky, especially since you met a dragon." The healer ordered.

Addressing the Companions he said, " She needs space, and someone to watch over her at all times. Also, to subdue nightmares keep some Elf Ear herb in the room, or lavender, for the scent calms the mind. If the wound turns a strange color or begins to smell it has festered go get me. The most important thing is to keep it clean and you must wash it every day. Send someone over if you need me."

"Fine. How much do we owe you?" Aela catechized.

"There wasn't much I could do for her, only give her potions, so I'll only charge you twenty-two Septims." He announced.

"I'll cover the cost." Aela murmured.

Aela handed him a small coin purse, and Skjor shooed everyone out of the room.

"Aela, we need to set up a cot somewhere quiet for her. Where can we put her?" Farkas asked on his way out.

"I don't know. I don't know how serious this is." She gestured to Khazura's wound.

"I mean there is one place…" she murmured.

"Aela, you can't be serious… the Underforge? People will wonder where she is. Kodlak would kill us. No. We can't! I'm sorry, Aela." Farkas apologized.

"I'll keep her in my room. I'll sleep in the whelps' quarters." Aela muttered.

Aela scooped up the girl, walked to her personal quarters and gently lay Khazura down on the soft furs. She noticed that Khazura's eyes were squeezed shut and she was twitching in her unconsciousness. Aela sighed, and went scouting for Elf's Ear. She soon found some hanging up on the wall by the door to the stairs. Pinching off a few sprigs, she bound them together with some leather strips and went back to her room. Aela hung the bundle up above Khazura's head, that way the scent would travel down to the trembling girl and calm her down.

"Get better, little one." She whispered.

Traveling down to the whelps' quarters Aela chose a bed and slept.

The next morning, Khazura had woken up twice. Once in the night and once in the early dawn. Skjor had woken Aela up, demanding she calm down the little she-cat.

"She's wailing and shrieking like an angry wispmother. Aela do something!" Skjor insisted.

"Oh all right. You just can't handle a little girl can you? Bears, draugr, and giants but not a little girl." Aela laughed, rolling her eyes.

Heading down to her room, she checked in on girl. She was quiet now, but awake.

"Aela? Is that you?" Khazura mumbled.

"Yes, little pup." Aela said, while putting a hand to Khazura's brow. She then drew it back exclaiming, "You're burning up!"

Running out of the room, Aela flew up the stairs frantically searching for Tilma. She found her and said, "I need cold water! The girl has a fever. Oh, Tilma what should we do?"

"Take her to the temple of Kynareth. It is cool there and experienced healers will care for her all day. Warriors may know how to sow up a cut and use herbs, but this is beyond that sparse amount of knowledge. Go! Make haste, child." Tilma exclaimed.

Aela began the descent downstairs, but Farkas had overheard the commotion and brought up Khazura, who was cradled in his strong arms.

"I heard you. Aela, let us go to the temple." Farkas said.

"Let's."

They hurried off, and thanked the gods the temple was less than 100 yards away from Jorrvaskr. Dashing into the temple, they both demanded a healer at once. Danica Pure-Spring, the head priestess and healer came and motioned for them to lay the girl on a wood block meant for healing.

"Go, Companions. We will do all we can for her. She does not seem too bad, but you never know." Danica stated.

They left and the healers all gathered round Khazura to see the miraculous girl who had lived through a dragon wound.

"How did such a youngster survive that trauma? I'm surprised she hasn't died." One spoke.

"I don't know." Mumbled another.

"All of you!Move away! We have other people to look after, and the child needs room to breathe." Danica Pure-Spring ordered.

Khazura twitched and muttered in her sleep. Sliding in and out of consciousness, she was confused from strange sights and smells for she hadn't been aware of her new location. She struck out with her claws as Danica had moved closer to restrain Khazura from possibly harming herself.

"Shh… You're okay." Danica cooed.

Khazura reacted to the voice with a weak hiss and went limp from exhaustion. Danica sighed and went to pray to Kynareth for fast healing for the little Khajiit child. Two days passed, and Khazura was over her fever and on her feet.

"Where is everyone? And I'm hungry." Khazura moaned.

"You're friends are coming from Jorrvaskr for you. You'll be able to eat there, child." A healer explained.

As if on queue, Aela burst through the door while Farkas was trailing after her. She squinted and smiled as she located Khazura.

"Khazura! You're awake. Are you ready to go back to Jorrvaskr?" she addressed Khazura.

"Yeah. And I need some food! I mean do healers even eat? There isn't even bread in here. I've checked!" Khazura chirruped.

Laughing, Aela strode over to the girl. Khazura got up and trotted over towards the door, pausing to thank Danica who had tended her for her whole stay.

"Thank you. Do I owe you anything?" Khazura questioned.

"No, child. You may leave now."

Dashing through the door, she inhaled the clean air. She wiggled her bare feet in the earth and sprinted up the hill to Jorrvaskr. Aela shouted after her but Khazura didn't wait. Bursting through she cried out, demanding food at once.

"Someone give me food! I'm starved." She fumed.

Skjor laughed and gave her a platter of meat with a sweetroll on the side.

"Food!" Khazura squealed.

She began scarfing down her food, one piece of meat disappearing after another. After the meat was gone, she eyed the sweetroll. She snatched the sticky bun into her hands, pulled it apart and devoured it.

Content, she sighed. Yawning and stretching, she started downstairs but Vilkas stopped her.

"Oh no you don't. Everyone's going on a bandit hunt. You're recovered enough for that. You and I are partners, all right? Go get you're armor and bow together." Vilkas growled.

"Aela, you're with Farkas, Skjor with Athis, Torvar with Njada, and Ria you'll be a scout. Alright?" Vilkas ordered.

"Since when do you give orders, boy?" Skjor snapped.

"I don't. Kodlak did and he told me to tell everyone. Don't believe me? Go ask him yourself." Vilkas retorted.

"Fine. Everyone hurry up!" Skjor yelled.

People were scurrying everywhere, pulling on their armor and grabbing different weapons. Khazura left her boots, since she could sneak up on bandits easier without them. She strapped her bow to her back, and her quiver as well.

"Let's go!"

They all sprinted out of Jorrvaskr and continued out to the plains of Whiterun. Torvar was cursing Vilkas for making them leave without knowledge of this excursion beforehand. Khazura had kept an easy pace with the rest of the Companions, and she noticed where they were off to, a bandit camp called Halted Stream. Gleefully, she crested a hill and began drawing out her bow. Vilkas, however, stopped her and told her to wait until everyone else had gone into the camp.

"But then everyone else will have killed a bandit." She argued.

"Exactly." He sniggered.

She waited around for both bandit and Companion to surge forth into battle, and she sat down on her little hill. Growling, she walked back towards Whiterun for she was irritated at Vilkas. Not paying attention of where she was going, she fell straight down a hole into a pit.

"Ugh. At least I didn't land on any of those pikes…" Khazura muttered.

She stood and brushed the dust from her armor, squinting at the top of the hole to see if there was a way out that way.

"Course not. Guess I should go into this cavern."

She crouched and slunk into the cave. Khazura found several traps; an iron pressure-plate which she avoided, a tripwire that she jumped over and a rock trap that she cautiously ducked around. She flattened her ears, hearing bandits mutter about cutting up the giant dead mammoth.

"Need a sharp axe to cut through all that fat." An Orc bandit grumbled.

"Well, hurry it up! We have a dead merchant in the pit to take care of!" A woman complained.

Khazura drew her bow, and aimed her arrow and pulled back. Just before firing, she noticed a lantern that could be shot down, which she did. Fire erupted around the pair and they died screaming, being burned to death. The bandit chief roared, and ran over to his two dead comrades. Khazura gulped, she hadn't known that he was there.

"Who's there?" He growled.

Knocking another arrow to her bowstring, she aimed for his eyes and shot. He screamed as it impaled his face, on his cheek not his eye, but she sprinted at him and used her backup dagger to slit his throat in the distraction. He gurgled, and clutched at his throat but fell to the ground nonetheless. In a few minutes he was dead. Shaking from her battle, she slowly looted his corpse. The bandit had a small coinpurse and a couple of gems that she could sell for later.

"Well, you won't be needing those anymore…" She muttered.

Traveling up to the large chest, she found a steel sword that she hooked to her belt. Also, finding a bronze and onyx circlet, she laughed as she placed it on her head.

"I bet I look silly." She giggled.

"You do, girl." A stern voice growled.

She froze, and slowly turned around. In front of her was an angry, quivering Vilkas.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID?" he roared.

Shrinking back, she managed out, "Kill three bandits? Umm…"

"YOU COULD'VE DIED!"

"Gods, Vilkas. I'm not dead, and you look like a red puffed-up horker. You certainly sound like one." Khazura snorted.

Fuming, he spun and marched up the walkway and out of her sight. Sighing, she trotted after him. She found a dead bandit, and noticed that Vilkas must have dispatched her. She came out into the light, and all of the Companions were in a half-circle, staring at the blood-covered girl.

"What are all you gawking at? Am I missing a limb?" Khazura said, as she checked for a missing appendage.

"No… no but you're covered in blood." Torvar muttered.

She shrugged and said, " I killed three bandits. Sorry."

"Hey! I only got to kill one! Why'd this kid get to kill three?" Njada complained.

"I fell down a hole, Njada. So shut up! I found 'em." Khazura spat.

Everyone began walking after Vilkas, who had stalked towards Whiterun. No one said a word, and Khazura just happily walked alone in solitude. When they reached Jorrvaskr, everyone crowded around the mead barrels except for Khazura. She just went downstairs to clean her armor of the bloodstains. When she was done she simply lay in bed until she fell asleep.

The next morning Khazura woke before dawn, and headed out to the training yard to practice her archery. The pale light would've been almost impossible to practice in if she hadn't had her ability to see in the dark. When she was shooting she missed terribly, because she remembered to speak to the Jarl. At least it had only been a week since Gerdur in Riverwood had asked her to speak to Jarl Balgruuf. However, before she would go to the Jarl, she wanted to go to the Nordic ruin she had seen from her way back from Helgen. Feeling cocky from her battle from the other day, she was certain she could take on a few more bandits. She walked out of Whiterun and asked the carriage driver by the stables to take her to Riverwood.

"Sure. That'll be ten Septims." He told her.

She handed him the coins, and leapt onto the back of the cart. The relatively short ride was very uneventful, since the road was clear of wolves and other predators.

"Thanks!" Khazura called to the driver as she started off on the path into the mountains.

A wolf sprung out at her, but she was already aware of its presence and slammed it to the ground. Khazura then stabbed in its ribs, silencing its growls and its life.

"Good riddance. Another wolf gone is a good thing."

Creeping up to a small tower, she drew her bow and quickly dispatched the lookout. Khazura also noticed an archer and shot her down as well. Continuing on her way, she gazed at the Nordic ruin. A name was carved on a pillar, and it said Bleak Falls Barrow. She delved into battle with two bandits, while another shot at her with arrows from higher ground. Hissing and flattening her ears she slashed at one while avoiding an axe from the other. Khazura stabbed him in his gut, and kicked the other in the shin, causing him to drop to the ground. With that, she stuck her dagger in his throat and she ran after the archer, who yelped as her neck was snapped from behind. Panting, Khazura stood in front of the giant, looming doors to the barrow.

**There's Chapter 3! R&R please. Next, little Khazura will delve into Bleak Falls Barrow. What shall she find there? (Like you don't know). Well, see you guys later. Oh, and why do you guys think Alduin's dragon speech makes sense to Khazura? He he he...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, Nightblade here! Khazura will now go into Bleak Falls Barrow, and discover something interesting about herself… And this chapter is very close to the game, since I couldn't really change much about it.**

**And do I really have to say this again? I don't own Skyrim, only my Khazura.**

Chapter 4: Dragonborn

Khazura pushed the giant stone doors with all her might, and they creaked open a small bit, just big enough for her to squeeze through. She looked around, and wrinkled her nose as she saw and smelled all the dead skeevers. Khazura kept walking forward, while sneaking, and overheard two bandits bickering. She whipped out her bow and killed both before they could say skeever.

"You're dead now, so all your stuff is mine. Let's see… ooh! You have gold on you!" Khazura grinned while looting their pockets.

After gaining a nice weight of gold in her coinpurse, she continued through the crypt at a fast pace. Hearing feet scuffing on the floor, she hissed. But the noise stopped, and she crept forwards, seeing a switch on the floor, which a bandit gripped tight and pushed. Green-tinted darts flew towards the bandit and he died with a high-pitched shriek. Snorting at his stupidity, she stood up from her crouch and looked above at the pictures engraved on slabs of stone. She turned to the moveable pillars and matched their pictures to those in the front of the room. Khazura then pushed the lever, and the gate swung open. Smiling at her own cleverness, she continued down the wooden stairwell and found three skeevers.

"Damn you pests!" Khazura screeched. "I don't even want to loot your corpses once you're dead!"

The skeevers leapt at her, and she was a whirlwind of claws that cut up the skeevers in an instant. She shuddered and strode towards a table that held a scroll and a bottle of poison. Khazura pocketed both, and slipped back into her sneaking position. Hearing cries for help she hurried down the corridor and growled as she saw the sticky strands of white that foretold of upcoming spiders.

"Don't let it get me!" a voice pleaded.

Khazura cut the thick ropes of spider webs that barred her from entering the room. She slowly edged into the room, and a gigantic frostbite spider fell from the ceiling. _Gods! It's at least three times my size,_ She thought. Scurrying back behind the doorway, Khazura ducked behind a pillar as the gigantic insect searched for her. She knocked an arrow and shot it once. Infuriated, the spider became frantic to find its enemy, but it couldn't find Khazura. Laughing quietly, she began a game of Shoot 'n' Seek, which consisted of her hiding, shooting the spider while it sought her out. Eventually she tired of the game and ended its miserable life.

"I think the Divines thank me for your death." Khazura muttered.

"Oh, good. You killed it. Here, cut me down!" a Dark Elf said, wriggling around in his spider web prison.

"Yeah, right. I know you're gonna run." Khazura spat.

"No I won't. I promise. Oh, and my name is Arvel the Swift." He promised.

She stepped forward and slashed the webs, but before he could get up she swiftly cut his throat.

"Should've been swifter, Dark Elf." She mused. Khazura found a strange golden claw with small animals carved on it and pocketed the item.

Running down the path, she slipped on a curved piece of stone. Cursing, Khazura rubbed her chin that had hit the ground.

"Oww… Oh. Oh, by the Divines! Draugr!" She shrieked, noticing bodies around her that weren't quite dead.

Khazura then clapped her hands over her mouth, and quietly snuck past all of the sleeping dead. Coming to another tomb site she shot arrows into the draugr, who just began to arise from its ancient slumber.

"Just… Stay… Dead!" Khazura snarled as she hacked the body to pieces.

Running throughout the dungeon, she slashed and cut bodies while screaming about dead things needing to stay dead. Khazura ran blindly through swinging axes and didn't care. Panting after the last trap, she downed the foul healing potions to quickly heal her wounds. Creeping down the next hallway she shot one draugr, and another, and the next had a partner so she sprinted down the oil slicks again. They angrily followed, and she lit the oil on fire with a quick arrow to some lanterns.

"I'm glad that worked…"

Trailing down the path, Khazura unknowingly walked into a trap. A draugr burst from its tomb and she yelped, unprepared for this. After it was dead, she pulled the chain for the gate barring her way to a cavern. Noticing a chest, she pulled the lid open, and whistled at her find.

"Oh, good. A gem, gold, ah… a scroll and a new dagger." Khazura grinned.

Stalking down the path, she saw a troll skull jutting out of a small creek.

"At least I don't have to deal with one of those trolls. I'd be killed!"

Silently she inched for the mouth of light that was pouring in from a gap in the ruins. The river dropped down making a waterfall, and as the water fell so did Khazura. She landed on a natural stone bridge, and she gasped as her feet broke during the impact. She drank another potion, and the bruises faded and bones moved back into place. A draugr was coming towards her, but it still hadn't seen her yet. She scurried into the darkness on the other side of the bridge and found strange glowing mushrooms. Perplexed, she poked one and it didn't do anything. Shrugging, she continued onward. She came across one more draugr, and she shot it down with ease.

Two iron doors were behind the draugr, and she pushed them open coming into a new part of the crypt. After, running through another set of swinging axes and dealing with more draugr, she still survived.

Snorting she said, "This isn't that hard. I mean, if a thirteen year old can do this, anyone can."

Khazura came to a giant, circular, stone door that had three levels. Seeing the imprint of the claw, she pulled out the one she found earlier. Looking at the animals carved on it, she pushed the levels until they were in order of bear, moth, and owl. Then she pushed the claw into the slot, and the door fell down revealing a cavern with a curved wall in its center. When she moved forward, bats flew past her and she yelped from their leathery wings beating on her face. Moving to the curved wall, she heard strange chants. Enchanted, Khazura moved to it, and a burning flashed in her mind.

"Fus? Force? Oh, okay. Whatever." She murmured.

A tomb burst open, and Khazura spun hissing all the while.

"Prepare to die for your second time, draugr!"

Slashing with her dagger, she growled and it Shouted her back.

"Fus…Ro…Dah!" the draugr Shouted.

"Eek! What the hell?" Khazura shrieked.

It growled and she screamed a war cry. She attacked it with renewed fury and finally it fell to its knees, and she stabbed it once more in the chest. Breathing hard, she sat down against the Word Wall, as she came to call it.

"Well, that could've been worse." Khazura stated.

Finally regaining her strength she leapt to her feet and checked the draugr for loot. A strange stone was on it, and she snatched it up. Noticing his sword was enchanted so she also took that. Looking around, Khazura pocketed a poison that was on the shelves by the dead draugr's tomb. She also checked the large chest and found a gold necklace, a spell tome for Clairvoyance that she read quickly and also an amethyst. Running up the stairs, she pulled a lever and marched out to open Skyrim.

Hours later, Khazura found herself back in Whiterun. She had run all night to get back, and her feet ached. She found her way back to Jorrvaskr and ate enough to make Farkas astonished.

"Where were you? You could've left a note, Khazura." Aela berated.

"Oh, I went to a draugr-infested crypt called Bleak Falls Barrow. You know what? I really hate draugr. Why are you looking at me like that?" Khazura said.

Aela had been staring at Khazura with a disbelieving look. She said, "Okay, I'm serious. Where were you?"

Khazura snarled out, "In Bleak Falls Barrow! Go ask the carriage driver if he took me to Riverwood. Or, you can check the whole crypt yourself."

"Gods! Okay, I believe you! You just don't hear of a youngling like yourself delving into dungeons alone. Next time, take one of your Shield-Siblings with you, like me. Okay?" Aela told her.

"Fine. I am going to bed now, though." She announced.

Khazura plopped into bed and slept for a whole day.

The next day, however, Khazura marched up to Dragonsreach and walked up to the Jarl's throne. A Dark Elf, named Ireleth, stopped her and demanded she know why Khazura was there. While the Dark Elf was approaching Khazura, she noticed that two men, presumably the Jarl and his steward, were arguing over sending troops down in the lower Falkreath area.

"Gerdur from Riverwood sent me. Riverwood is in danger."

"Sure. What's this regarding?" the Dark Elf said sarcastically.

"I have a message only for the Jarl. It's none of your concern." Khazura said snootily.

"Any message for the Jarl can be heard by me." Ireleth snarled.

"Ireleth let her through. So you have a message for me about Riverwood?" The Jarl spoke.

"Yes. Riverwood is in danger."

"Really? From what?" he drawled.

"A dragon, the one from Helgen."

"Oh? How do you know?"

"Well, I had a great view while the Imperials were trying to cut off my head." Khazura spat.

"Hmm… serves you right for your criminal past. But no matter…"

"Criminal past! I don't know what you're talking about! I was just crossing into Skyrim-"

"Enough! Now, Proventus do you think I should stand idly by, while a dragon burns villages and slaughters my people? No! I shall not." Jarl Balgruuf shouted.

"Ireleth, send detachments to Riverwood at once. And you, you sought me out on your own accord. Here, take this." The Jarl spoke, handing Khazura a set of Imperial armor.

She took it, but knew she would never wear it, since it stood for the very thing that had tried to kill her. Imperials.

"Now, I do think there is one thing you can do for me. Farengar, my court wizard has been working on a project to help on the dragon matter." Balgruuf said.

Khazura trailed after the Jarl and found herself in front of an annoying man named Farengar. He only looked down upon her and saw a mere child.

"Farengar! This girl can help you with your little project."

"Hmm? Oh, you think so?" Farengar snorted.

Turning to Khazura he sneered, "I need someone to go fetch something for me. And what I mean by fetch, I really mean delve into a dungeon to get my object."

"Alright. Where am I going and what am I fetching?" Khazura catechized.

"Huh. Straight to the point, eh? No need for tedious how's and why's. I like that." Farengar said with new respect for the girl.

"Well, you need to go get the dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow." Farengar muttered.

"Oh, you mean this old hunk of rock?" Khazura asked, showing him the stone from her earlier expedition.

"Yes! You already have it. You are cut from a different cloth than the brutes the Jarl usually foists upon me." Farengar said, amazed.

"Farengar! Come quick!" Ireleth shouted.

"And you, cat! The Jarl will want to speak with you!" Ireleth continued.

They raced up the stairs in a hurry, and Khazura went alongside the Jarl.

"So, Ireleth tells me you came from the Western watchtower?" Jarl Balgruuf said, addressing a guard.

"Just tell him what you told me. About the dragon." Ireleth murmured.

"Uh… that's right. We saw it from the south. It was fast… faster than anything I've ever seen." The guard stammered.

"What did it do? Was it attacking the watchtower?" the Jarl demanded, a hint of fear in his voice.

"No, my lord. It was just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my life… I thought it come after me for sure." The guard panted.

"Good work, son. We'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for food and rest. You've earned it." The Jarl told him.

"Ireleth, you'd better get some guardsmen down to the watchtower."

"Like guards are going to do anything to a dragon." Khazura muttered. "They destroyed Helgen, and there were guards there too."

"I've already ordered my men to muster by the main gate." Ireleth answered.

"Good. Don't fail me."

"Oh, just watch. They'll all die." Khazura whispered.

"There's now time to stand on ceremony, friend." The Jarl started.

Words blended together for Khazura, but she ended up understanding what the Jarl meant. For her to go to the watchtower as well. _Well,_ she thought, _Imperials all want me to die. For this is certain death, for all of us._

"Yes, Jarl Balgruuf." Khazura managed out.

Khazura then ran out of Dragonsreach, out of the city and she didn't stop until she got to a boulder that she hid behind, waiting for Ireleth and her men. They soon reached her and Ireleth scouted around.

"No sign of the dragon. But it has been here, look at all the fire!" Ireleth gasped.

"No, I thought it was just a little bushfire…" Khazura snapped.

"You hold your tongue, cat! Or I'll cut it out." Ireleth threatened.

"Spread out. Look for survivors." Ireleth then ordered.

Khazura sprinted towards the tower, and found a cowering man.

"No! Get back! Hroki and Tor just got grabbed and then the dragon flew off!" the man shrieked.

"Kynareth save us! Here he comes again!"

Sure enough, a small speck came flying out at the watchtower and the shape grew to be the size of a dragon. Lightning bolts arced across the sky from Ireleth's hands, and arrows launched into flight aimed for the dragon. It roared and still flew closer. Khazura growled, and decided she would fight.

"Come on, you overgrown lizard! You may breath fire, but you can still die!" Khazura yowled. _I hope, _Khazura added silently.

Khazura leapt forward and drew her own bow, firing arrows at the dragon. It roared and blew flames everywhere. Khazura caught the brunt of the fire and she grimaced, downing a health potion. The dragon landed and Khazura struck the beast with a sword across its jaw. Its head swept to the side with the impact, and it growled. It lunged at her with its powerful jaws, and she jumped back nearly avoiding the jagged teeth. Infuriated, she scratched at its eyes and it roared in indignation. The dragon flew up into the robin's egg colored sky, and spewed fire across the whole watchtower, causing rubble to fall all around Khazura. Enraged, she shot poisoned arrows after it, hoping the poison would take its toll on the beast. It swooped down, clutched a guard in its talons and swung the guard into the air. The guard came down screaming, and hitting the ground with a dull breaking sound. The dragon then made a move towards the little Khajiit, and she narrowly stepped to the side. Khazura shot an arrow in its side, and the dragon landed right in front of her. He lunged again with his jaws, but Khazura was ready for it.

"That's it! Die, you stinking scum!" She spat.

"Alduin ofan ok krosis, joor!" the dragon roared. "Zu'u Mirlimur!"

"I don't care if Alduin gives his sorrow, dragon! Zu'u Khazura!" Khazura shouted.

"Ruz dir!" Mirlimur growled.

"No, you die!" Khazura shrieked, while driving a sword from under his jaw and into his skull.

Mirlimur reared up and roared out, " No, Dovahkiin!"

Khazura triumphantly stood before the slain dragon, and then it began to glow. The dragon's carcass began to burn and soon its bones were seen, while the color rushed into Khazura. She was shocked and confused. A voice spoke in her head telling her to Shout, just like a dragon could.

"Fus!" She Shouted.

A force of energy shot out of her mouth, and dirt and debris flew into the air. She put a hand to her mouth and sat down.

"You're Dragonborn!" a guard accused.

"What? No…" She backed up, starting into a run towards the city.

The guard called out to her, but she ran in fear for being Dragonborn was bad. But, a strong booming voice called down seemingly from the heavens, " Dov-ah-kiin!"

Khazura trembled, and was knocked to the ground. She got up, and the guard who had accused her tried helping her up. She bit his hand, but he stayed.

"Being Dragonborn isn't a bad thing. I know you are just a child, a very powerful and deadly child, but you just haven't heard the legends. In fact, you are one of those legends."

"Oh, ok." She murmured.

"You couldn't shout before, right? But now you can?" he asked.

Khazura nodded, and the guard pushed some heavy objects into her hands.

"You might want those. Those are dragon bones and scales. I thought you might want your first dragon bones as a token. I am certain this will not be your last dragon to be killed…" The guard muttered.

"What?" Khazura squealed.

"Yes, since you are the only one who can truly kill these beasts."

"Well, you better head up to Dragonsreach."

"Okay. Thank you, though. For the bones, I mean." Khazura smiled.

"Go! I'm sure the Jarl will want to speak with you."

Khazura stuck the dragon bones and scales into her pouch and ran to Dragonsreach. When she burst into the doors, the Jarl was waiting for her return.

"Did you hear them calling you Dragonborn? The Greybeards?" Hrongar, the Chief Warleader asked.

"Yes…" Khazura stammered.

"Well, what happened? Is it dead?" the Jarl demanded.

"Yes, it is. As it turns out, I kind of absorbed some sort of power from the dead dragon." Khazura explained.

"Ah. So the Greybeards were really calling you." The Jarl leaned back on his throne.

"As capable of this child may be, I don't see any signs of her being, this… Dragonborn." Proventus Aviccii sneered.

"Fus!" Khazura Shouted, at the ground before Proventus' feet.

"Gods! You really are Dragonborn!" He cowered.

"No, I just shout really well…" She snarled.

"You must go up to High Hrothgar, where the Greybeards live. They will help you further." Jarl Balgruuf directed.

"Oh, and before you go, I have made you Thane of Whiterun. You can now purchase property and you have a housecarl named Lydia.

"Thank you, Jarl." Khazura muttered.

She began walking down the stairs and out to Jorrvaskr, but a woman stopped her.

" I am Lydia, my Thane, your new housecarl. I will protect you with my life." Lydia vowed.

"Ah, good. Well, umm… need your services now." Khazura told her.

"I shall be here if you need me." Lydia said.

Khazura ran out of Dragonsreach and out to Jorrvaskr to tell everyone her news.

"Aela! Farkas! Guess what!" She giggled.

"What? Did you find a sweetroll or something? You shouldn't be out, you know. There was a dragon out." Aela reprimanded her.

"Oh, not anymore." Khazura chortled.

"Why are you so sure? How did you hear it before me? And did you here about the Dragonborn? I only heard about it when I went down to the market…Apparently, some strange woman slayed the beast. Who do you think could've done that?" Aela questioned.

"Me! I killed it!" Khazura crowed. "See! I have some of its bones and scales!"

Aela stared at Khazura and whispered, "You? The… Dragonborn? The gods must be joking."

"Nope! And guess what! I can Shout! Look…" Khazura motioned. "FUS!"

Aela staggered back, even though the Shout wasn't directed at her. The ground had rocked beneath her feet, and the whole room went quiet. Njada, Athis and Ria stared at Khazura, while Torvar just twitched in his drunken state.

"Anyways… I'm exhausted. And I need to heal." Khazura told Aela.

"Yeah… yeah, okay. Just… okay." Aela stammered, confused and in awe about Khazura.

Khazura then went downstairs, found her bed and curled up for a well-earned sleep.

**I guess Khazura is the Dragonborn! Hehehe… You all new that was coming though, didn't you? Oh, and you know how Proventus always says that your character basically isn't Dragonborn? I always Shout at his feet. Makes me feel better, I guess. R&R guys! I need it… (****and more people to read my story…****). Bye! Off to writing more chapters! **

**"Alduin ofan ok krosis, joore" = Alduin gives his sorrow, mortal.**

**" Zu'u Mirlimur." = I am Mirlimur. (lit. I Mirlimur)**

**"Zu'u Khazura." = I am Khazura. (same)**

**"Ruz Dir" = Then Die!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! Nightblade again. This chapter will be mostly about Khazura traveling up to High Hrothgar and such. Also, I don't own Skyrim, only my Khazura. Oh, also I may be introducing a new character soon, so keep reading! And sorry for the late update. **

Chapter 5: High Hrothgar

"Seven thousand steps? That'll take forever!" Khazura said, incredulous.

"Yes, seven thousand steps. But I'll be going with you, and I'm taking a horse. You're small so we can ride together." Aela smiled.

"Are you sure? I can make it on my own…" Khazura stated.

"I'm going whether you like it or not."

"What's this? You're leaving? Kodlak better know about this, you two." Skjor said.

"Oh, I already told him I was going. Thanks for reminding me, though." Khazura replied, sarcasm laced through her voice.

"Hmph. Don't get Aela killed, cat."

Khazura rolled her eyes and continued to pack her knapsack full of supplies. She had gathered staples such as bread, cheese, and a water pouch. She had also stuck some herbs in too, just in case of a battle.

"Oh, Khazura! I made something for you." Farkas called.

"What? What is it?" she eagerly asked.

"Here. I hope you like it." He handed her a necklace.

The necklace was a dragon's tooth, one from Mirlimur, her first and only dragon kill. A dragon in flight was carved into it, with a small wolf's head on a shield on the back of the tooth. Dragon's teeth were hard to carve, and to have such intricate designs on it must have taken hours. It warmed Khazura's heart to have such a gift.

"Thank you, Farkas. I was wondering where that tooth was though." She laughed.

"I was hoping you didn't notice its absence, for I feared a Shout would be my penalty." Farkas said sheepishly.

"Oh, Farkas! I would never Shout at you! Even so, my Thu'um is weak." Khazura giggled.

"Sure." He chuffed.

She turned and resumed her previous activity. Placing the necklace around her neck, she marveled at it. As she was distracted, Aela took the chance of pouncing on Khazura, but as soon as she had leapt the girl moved away.

"Just because I can't see you doesn't mean I don't know where you are, Aela." Khazura called behind her shoulder. "Besides, shouldn't you be packing like me?"

"Watch out, little girl." Aela growled.

Khazura spun, fear in her eyes thinking Aela was serious.

"Or you'll begging for mercy as I tickle you!" Aela shouted and pinned Khazura to the floor tickling her sides.

"No! H-Help! Farkas!" she screamed. "Aela, stop before I Shout you off!"

"Oh no! But didn't you say your Thu'um was weak? I can take it!" Aela grinned.

"Fu-" Khazura started, but Aela clamped a hand over her mouth.

"You were saying?"

Khazura squirmed under the large Nord woman, scratching and kicking all the while. She finally was able to bite Aela on the hand, and then she Shouted with all her might.

"FUS!"

Aela was pushed backwards, and she smacked against the door. Laughing like a little girl, Aela rose to her feet.

"You call that a Thu'um? All I just felt was a small breeze, girl!" Aela laughed weakly.

"Suuuure. It's not like you were just tossed around like a ragdoll." Khazura snorted.

"Are you alright? We heard you Shout!" Skjor exclaimed.

"I started tickling her and she Shouted at me!"

"Oh. It is your fault then, Aela. Shouldn't you two get a move on? It's almost dawn…" Skjor advised.

"Yeah, we should. Aela, I'm leaving now! You better be ready to go, for I'm not waiting for you…" Khazura joked.

"Who has a horse? And knows how to ride one?" Aela growled playfully.

"You may know how to ride a horse, but you sure can't climb trees like I can." Khazura snorted.

She pivoted on her heels, and strode out of the whelps' quarters. Walking up the stairs, Khazura broke into a brisk trot to make her way towards the stables. Pushing through the small market, Khazura started towards the main gate when a city guard stopped her.

"Halt, cat! You're kind aren't welcome in this city. You have to leave." The guard ordered.

"I'll tell you four things. One, I'm already in this city; two, I'm on my way out; three, I'm in training with the Companions; and four… I'm the Dragonborn." Khazura drawled out.

"Yer lying, scum! I'd like to see you Shout…" the guard laughed.

"Oh? You really want to try that?"

"If you leave now, I may let you live. Or, you can pretend to be the mighty Dragonborn and Shout at this wall here, and die." The guard guffawed.

"You asked for it…" Khazura spat. "FUS!"

The ground rumbled with her power and the guard rushed to meet it on his face.

"Ah, I think I'm allowed in the city… and if you don't allow me to enter, I'll send a dragon to meet you…" Khazura threatened.

"Khazura! What-" Aela started.

"We're leaving now. I hope your horse is already saddled, though. This fool just cost me time to get to High Hrothgar…" Khazura interrupted.

She stalked out of the gate and grumbled, "Just cause I'm a kid doesn't mean I can teach those haughty, skeever-assed guards some new lessons…"

Aela ran into a sprint, but she was soon lost behind the growing crowd from Khazura's unexpected Shout.

"Khazura! Wait up! You don't know what horse is mine!" Aela pleaded.

Ignoring her, Khazura walked on and she glared at every guard she passed, daring them to fight her back. Once her anger subsided, she realized what she had done, she then started walking faster to the stables. Confused and worried, she waited around the stables for someone to come, preferably Aela. Seeing no one, she sat down on a hay bale and curled up into a tight ball. A stable hand appeared, seemingly out of thin air, and asked Khazura about the horses that were milling about.

"Do you need help? Perhaps I could get a horse for you…"

"Uuh… which horse… is Aela's? And can you saddle it up?" She stammered.

"You seem confused, girl. What's the matter? Did you lose all your cheese?" the boy mused.

"Cheese? What?" Khazura asked, her face muddled with confusion.

"Aye, lass! Your cheese!" He laughed.

"Lass? You're what… fourteen? You can barely call me a girl!" She retorted, her hackles rising in anger.

"Oh, I am far older than you…" he muttered.

Rising off her hay bale, Khazura seethed, "What's your name, huh? And I bet you don't even know who I am!"

The stable hand puffed up to tower over her, and yelled, "You don't even know who I AM, Dragonborn!"

"How… how do you know what I am? And who are you?" she squeaked.

"I know many things you don't, girl! Besides, many know me and yet no one does…" he roared.

"You're insane…" Khazura squeaked.

All of a sudden, he beamed and said, "Quite right! Now, ta ta, and see you again! Or… maybe not."

Dazed at her encounter with the madman, Khazura sat down. She heard heavy breathing and loud footsteps. Raising her head, she saw Aela storm up to her hay bale.

"You are reckless! I had to persuade the guards to let you walk free! Quick, before they change their minds we need to go!" Aela shouted.

Sniffing the air, Aela growled. Noticing Khazura's lethargic stare, Aela took the girl by the shoulders and shook her.

"Why does it smell like… Daedra?"

"What? I suppose that makes sense… I came to the stables to fetch your horse, and I had asked a stable boy to saddle it up. He then asked why I looked confused, and he started rambling on about cheese. We fought, he knew about me being Dragonborn, and I called him insane. He then beamed at me when I said such, and left. Just like that! Poof!" Khazura raved.

"Ah, Sheogorath." Aela mused, rubbing her jaw.

"What does he want with me? And… how do you know what Daedra smells like?" Khazura said suspiciously, eyeing Aela.

Aela laughed at this, and ruffled Khazura's fur.

"In time, little pup. Besides, aren't you ready to leave this city? I'd sure like a change in scenery."

Khazura nodded, but she pondered on what Aela was hiding. While she was thinking about the matter, Aela was strapping the saddle onto her horse and spewing out random tips on riding to Khazura. Tightening the girth, she hoisted Khazura into the saddle. Squirming around, Khazura spat and hissed about being able to get into a saddle by herself.

"This is Tarjir. He is a fine steed, one I have used for many moons now. He is strong and capable of traveling from both sides of Skyrim and back with only a few stops." Aela commented proudly.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. If we find any other horse on this trip I'll buy it in a heartbeat. Are you sure his name isn't Goliath? He's huge!" Khazura complained.

"Ah, the mighty Dragonborn, complaining about a horse to big for her size… Quite unbecoming of you." Aela teased.

"Well, I feel like I am seeing from the very peaks of the mountain already."

Aela snorted and leapt into the saddle behind Khazura. She kicked the horse and he jolted into a canter. Growling, Khazura kicked the horse again, hoping to stop the crazy bouncing in the saddle. Tarjir picked up the pace and flowed into a smooth, fast pace, whipping Khazura and Aela's hair around in the wind. Whooping with joy, Aela encouraged Tarjir into his maximum speed. He obeyed and surged forward.

"Can… we… slow… down?" Khazura yelled, the wind taking her words away.

Aela didn't hear and Khazura sighed, closing her eyes awaiting some sort of peace. The gods must have noticed her hope, and she fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

Hours later, Khazura awoke into a new terrain, full of brightly colored trees and leaves blanketing the forest floor. Gasping, she gazed around at the marvelous sight. Aela noticed her awake, and smiled.

"I take it you have never seen these trees before, right?" Aela asked.

"No I haven't! They're beautiful!"

"We will need to let poor Tarjir rest his hooves. He has been running this whole time. Still think you want another horse?" Aela laughed.

"Yes! I'd find a different horse that can ride forever!" Khazura spat.

Rolling her eyes, Aela slid off of the saddle and helped Khazura off as well. Grabbing Tarjir's reigns, she led him off towards a small stream. As he drank, Khazura ran straight into the frigid water, splashing around looking for fish. Scooping a salmon out of the water, she hooked it in one hand and flung it towards the riverbank, shouting for Aela to catch it. Aela had been deep in her maps, and found they were near the village of Ivarstead. Looking up, she was startled and barely caught the wriggling fish in her hands. Giggling, Khazura swam out onto the other side of the creek.

"You can't get me now! That's payback for this morning's tickling!" She called.

"Why you-"

Khazura stiffened suddenly, and held a finger to her lips to silence Aela. Motioning upriver, she waded back towards the side where Aela was on.

"Something smells foul. I have never smelled its rank odor before." Khazura grimaced, her nose clenched together as if to keep out a nasty odor.

Sniffing the air, Aela growled, as she smelled what Khazura was talking about.

"Troll. I barely even caught its scent. You have a good nose, little pup." Aela complemented.

"Troll? I almost thought I was going to fight one when I went through the old Nordic barrow… I found one's skull in there." She murmured.

Aela pulled out her bow, and crept towards the troll's lair. Khazura did the same, but coated her arrow in a paralytic poison. Following Aela, she slowly began to creep forward. Her eyes widened at the sight of the ugly creature and she released her arrow. It whizzed past Aela and embedded itself into the troll's arm, the poison already at work. The troll stiffened up and fell to the ground. Leaping into a sprint, the pair ran over to the troll and began hacking it before it could get off the ground.

"Die, smelly beast!" Khazura yelled.

"It won't die very easily, especially since it is just the two of us! If we had Farkas or Vilkas we could take it down in minutes. Use your Thu'um!" Aela shouted.

Mustering her strength, Khazura arched her back and firmly planted her feet, screaming, "Fus!"

The troll staggered backwards and Aela decapitated it with its distraction.

Heaving for breath, the two grinned at each other. Aela stretched and went over to the troll's corpse, pulling out all the arrows she could.

"Are we near Ivarstead? I heard about a troll lair nearby the town." Khazura catechized.

"Yes. How do you know of such things?" Aela asked.

"Oh, I just heard about it."

Aela snorted and began towards the other side of the river. She called to Khazura to stay on her side of the creek, for she was only getting Tarjir. Pulling Tarjir's reigns and guiding him into the stream was hard, for the creature hadn't liked the smell of troll on Aela.

"Oh come on. It's dead!" Aela muttered.

"Hurry up, Aela! The sun is low in the sky!"

Once the horse and rider crossed the stream, they set out for Ivarstead. Stopping at the town's mouth, Aela marched over to a farmer.

"I need to have my horse rest for the night. Or maybe a few… I'm a Companion, and over there is the Dragonborn. We are on our way to High Hrothgar. Will you keep my steed in your fenced area? I know there isn't much room…" Aela said, flashing a coinpurse in his eyes.

"Sure! I'll take him. And of course, that." The farmer leered, snatching up the coinpurse.

"Come on! I want to get to High Hrothgar before sundown." Aela ordered, while turning to Khazura.

"Why can't we take Tarjir? And you want to get there by sundown?" Khazura questioned.

"Yes. Now, stop dawdling and get a move on!"

Rolling her eyes, Khazura marched across the bridge and began the ascent towards the heavens. Hours up the path, a lone wolf cried out. Aela halted the trek, and pulled out her bow.

"Be on your guard. A wolf is nearby."

Nodding, Khazura drew up her dagger. Panting followed, and a low growl issued from a wolf's throat. Turning around, Khazura flattened her ears and hissed at the intruding wolf.

"Aela! It's right here!" Khazura spat.

Khazura dodged the wolf's attempt at her exposed throat, and slashed at its hindquarters. Yelping, the wolf ran away, then doubled back and tried its attack again. This plan, however, was stopped for an arrow was lodged into the wolf's skull.

"Thanks." Khazura said to Aela.

"No problem." She smiled, and whirled around to start back up the stony steps. A half hour had passed uneventfully, except for the bleating of goats and their hurried steps away from Aela and Khazura. The pair had dispatched an ice wolf and was cresting a hill, but about midway up the mountain when the sun had sunk below the horizon.

Stopping again, Aela grumbled out, " I guess we have to keep going, even though the sun has gone down. If we had a tent, that would be a different story…"

"Who says we don't have a tent?" Khazura grinned, while holding a knapsack open that was full of tent equipment.

After setting up their temporary camp, Khazura yawned and announced she was going on a hunt for wood.

"Bring back a rabbit or two!" Aela called.

Crouching low, Khazura started up the path and kept an eye out for rabbits. Finding none so far, she rummaged around in the shrubbery and bundled a pile of twigs together for a fire. Using her dagger she hacked at weak or dying limbs from nearby trees for better wood. She froze at a bleating nose and her instincts kicked in, forcing her into a predatory crouch. She drew her bow and slowly turned around, seeing a goat wander on the rocky incline. Thanking the gods for the food supply she shot an arrow into the night hitting her prey right on target. The goat bleated a high, shrill noise and moved no more. Satisfaction clear on Khazura's face, she instantly went over to the dead animal and skinned it quickly. She gathered it up in her arms, and walked back towards the camp. When she got there, Aela looked at the goat and cut off all of the edible pieces, then shoved the rest of the carcass off of the mountain.

"We should get a fire started so we can be warm and cook the meat. Sound good?" Aela asked.

"Yeah. I already have a stack of kindling and thicker wood for the fire." Khazura beamed.

"Good, good. Get that started." Aela said, while unrolling two bedrolls.

Khazura stacked up the fire into a ring, and shoved random stones around it. Using magic, she started the fire in an instant. The fire roared up, but quickly dissipated into a normal sized flame.

"I didn't know you could do magic!" Aela exclaimed.

"Oh, just a bit of destruction magic, and a wee bit of restoration."

"Ah. Well, that made things much easier for a fire."

Aela lay down the bedrolls around the fire, and the two nodded off into slumber.

* * *

Khazura woke around midnight, and glanced over at the dying embers of the fire. Sighing, she shot a gout of magic into the embers, and they rose up cheerily. Looking at Aela's bedroll, she noticed the Nord was gone.

"Aela? Are you out there?" Khazura squeaked.

Hearing no reply, she huddled towards the fire to keep the chill out. The moons, Masser and Secunda, were both full and cast an eerie light upon the mountain. A wolf howled nearby, but the howl wasn't quite right. She shivered, and wondered where Aela could be. Frightfully, she waited in the strange silence that followed. She sat until the dawn light was returning to the sky.

* * *

Shaken awake by Aela, Khazura woke up with a start. Her eyes were still wide with fright from the night's events and she shivered.

"What's wrong?" Aela asked, concerned.

"You were gone last night. And don't say you weren't! I checked twice, and pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Oh, and there was a wolf howl, but it wasn't right. It was-"

"Calm down! I was out for a hunt. I thought it would be nice to have some berries for breakfast and to see if I could find some rabbit."

"Okay…" Khazura said, as she eyed Aela.

_She's hiding something… I can tell… _Khazura thought.

Standing up from her bed, Khazura yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She rolled up her bedroll, and noticed the rest of camp was already stowed in her knapsack.

"Thanks, Aela."

"Hmm? Oh, you're welcome. I thought we should get an early start. It is nearly six, you know."

Putting her bedroll into her bag, she hoisted her sack onto her back and marched forward. The two had many conversations on the way, about life, the Companions and this Dragonborn business. They passed a pilgrim on the way, and she bid them good luck on their travels. Aela resumed her speech and questions on being Dragonborn.

"What are you going to do? I mean, you're destined to kill that black dragon."

"Oh, you mean Alduin. Yeah, I guess I'm gonna have to kill him." Khazura shrugged.

"Hey, Aela?"

"Yes?" She questioned.

"There is a smell up ahead, and it's sort of like the troll form yesterday. Except this time, it's stronger smelling. And colder smelling… If that's even possible." Khazura muttered.

"Frost troll!" Aela hissed.

"Frost? Are they susceptible to fire?" Khazura grinned cheekily.

"I suppose so…" Aela answered.

Khazura jolted forward and pulled out a white piece of paper. Chanting strange words of magic fire erupted around her fingertips. The troll leapt down from it's lookout, and roared at her.

"What are you doing?" Aela cried.

"Stay back! It'll go far!" Khazura screeched.

Fire then pushed around the girl, and the troll had run straight into the full impact of the intense heat. It gurgled and a terrible burning wafted on the wind.

"Wow. How did you do that?" Aela catechized.

"Oh, it was a scroll I have been saving. I was planning on selling it, but it served me well."

Khazura sprinted forwards on the trail with renewed energy, while Aela cursed small children with endless amounts of energy. Khazura heard, and chided her about this particular child being the Dragonborn. A large stone fortress soon loomed into sight, and Khazura yipped with glee. She burst forth in front of the doors, but Aela caught up and pulled her back.

"This is serious. The Greybeards are extremely serious. I cannot go with you, for this is your task alone."

Nodding her head, Khazura then pushed the doors open with grave actions. Soon Khazura found herself alone.

**So! That was Chapter 5! I hope you liked! See you guys next chapter! And I know this was a short chapter... I haven't had all the time I have liked.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6! Khazura meets the Greybeards! R&R when you're done, please!**

**Oh! And I don't own Skyrim, only my Khazura. **

* * *

Chapter 6: The Greybeards

Khazura stood in the shadows, when an older looking man approached her dark corner.

"I am Arngeir. Who are you to walk into our monastery?"

"I am called Dragonborn, Master. I have come to learn more about the Thu'um." Khazura murmured.

"So, a Dragonborn appears at a time of need… Let us hear your Voice."

"Are you sure? I know my Thu'um is weak but…" She whispered.

"Do not worry child. It will not hurt us." Arngeir said, while motioning toward several other men who had come out into sight.

"Alright…" Khazura said uncertainly, "FUS!"

The older man staggered back, but not far like Aela had been thrown. Khazura's brows rose in astonishment, for everyone she had shouted at had flung across the room.

"Dragonborn, it is you. Forgive us for not believing you, but you are such a young child. May Kynareth protect you in all your troubles." Arngeir said.

"Ah. I understand completely." Khazura snapped sarcastically.

Remembering Aela's words, she instantly regretted snapping at the old man. Nonetheless, he just smiled and walked with his fellows around a stone pillar. They formed a half circle in front of it and left only a space open for Khazura. She quickly sped over to her available spot.

"You may know a Shout, but it is only part of one. There are three words to a Shout, and for Unrelenting Force you already know Fus, or force. Master Wulfgar, here, will teach you Ro. Ro means Balance, which will increase the Shout's power." Arngeir explained.

Master Wulfgar pointed his hands towards the floor, and whispered a word. Khazura strained to hear what he said, but before she could catch it, cracks spread on the floor. They glowed yellowish orange and Khazura recognized the cracks as Dragontongue. The strange whispers once again beckoned to her, and she flowed over to the word. The pleasant warmth suffused her as she read it and then she sighed as knowledge seeped into her.

"Ro. I know what it means, but I cannot Shout it. Why is that, Arngeir?" Khazura questioned.

"I shall tell you in a moment. However, Master Wulfgar will allow you to tap into his memories to learn Ro."

Master Wulfgar bowed to give her his memories, and suddenly she understood Ro completely. Bowing back to him, she then turned to Arngeir to have her answer.

"Amazing. Ah, you want your answer. And you shall have it. You have the legendary Dragonblood, so you have endless capability to learn Shouts. But to fully understand a Word normally you would take the knowledge from a slain dragon."

"I guess that makes sense..." Khazura muttered.

"You have a second test, Dragonborn." Arngeir continued on.

"What?" Khazura blanched.

"Do not worry, child. We only require you to use your Thu'um against our phantom spirits."

"Oh, alright." She mumbled.

"Prepare yourself. Master Borri will go first."

"Fiik… Loh… Saah!" Master Borri Shouted.

An opaque pale figure appeared in front of Khazura. She paled from the sheer pressure of being Dragonborn and living up to her name, so she muttered out a curse.

"Here goes… FUS RO!" She screamed.

The figure took the impact and disappeared. Arngeir nodded, and congratulated her on her Thu'um.

"You learn quickly. Once again." He said.

"Fiik… Loh… Saah!"

"FUS RO!"

"The rate you learn at is astonishing. Once more."

"Fiik… Loh… Saah!" Arngeir Shouted.

"FUS RO!" Khazura cried out.

"You have done well. Follow Master Borri out to the courtyard, please." Arngeir guided.

She nodded and followed the elderly man out to the courtyard. Once they all had met, they formed the little half-circle again, but Master Borri had already carved out a Word of Power.

"This time, we shall see how you learn a completely new Shout." Arngeir said.

Reading the word, her mind took a bit of time to decipher the meaning. It took her about a half a minute, and she was worried that was too long for any normal person. Sweating with nervousness, she fidgeted around until the calling voices came to her. Sighing with relief at their sound, she waited as the same cradling warmth wrapped around her mind. It came and Khazura spun to look at Arngeir.

"Wuld. It means Whirlwind." Khazura stated.

"You do quite well, little child. Master Borri shall give you his insight, and then you shall continue with the third trial."

"Third trial? You sure are the informative lot…" Khazura snorted.

Master Borri bowed, and she hastily bowed back once she received the knowledge.

"Master Einarth will demonstrate this Shout and then you will go next." Arngeir informed her.

Standing by a closed gate up ahead, Master Borri waited to open it. When Master Einarth was standing by Arngeir waiting for his chance to Shout.

"Bex!" Master Borri Shouted, causing the gate to fling open quickly.

In that time, Master Einarth was ready and Shouted out, " Wuld Nah Kest!"

He shot forward past the gate, and it swung shut behind him. Khazura gulped and stood next to Arngeir for her newest trial. Master Borri Shouted again, and Khazura screamed out the Shout, shooting past the gate onto the other side. Beaming at her completion, she trotted over to Arngeir.

"Very good. You learn very quickly, and master the Shout in minutes, whereas normal mortals take years to learn a Word of Power. However, we have a fourth and final trial for you. You must travel to Ustengrav and retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. After this, you will be named Dragonborn with the Dragontongue, just as Tiber Septim has been named."

"Oh, okay. I'll be going now, then." Khazura said.

Silently disagreeing with the Greybeards, she thought, _Ustengrav can wait. I have other things to be done… I don't plan on doing this for a couple of months... that is, if I ever do this task._

Practically flying, Khazura went through the fortress and ran out to where Aela was supposed to be waiting. Seeing no one, she stalked out and gazed around the front of High Hrothgar, looking for the Nord. Laughing hard, she doubled over as she noticed Aela asleep on the snow by the base of a tree, drooling in her slumber.

"Only Aela could fall asleep during her impatience." She snorted.

Jumping up immediately from her faked sleep, Aela howled with glee as she took the girl by surprise and pinned her to the snow.

"I finally got you!" Aela laughed, rolling off the squashed Dragonborn.

Slightly irritated, Khazura stood up, brushing off the snow and debris from her surprise attack. Growling at the Nord, she stalked off towards the trail leading down form the mountain. Still chuckling, Aela marched off after the aggravated Khajiit girl. Smirking to herself, Khazura broke into a sprint away from Aela. She kept up her fast pace for half of an hour, then slowly she felt her speed deteriorating. Grumbling to the wind, she began to slow down. Glancing behind her, Khazura saw a small speck she assumed was Aela. She was right, but she grinned at her newly hatched plan.

Khazura concentrated and easily found the Word she wanted. Wuld. She thought on it and sped up to match the speed of the howling wind.

"Wuld!" Khazura Shouted.

She felt herself shoot forward with the wind, and after the speed faded she found her heart beating wildly. She stopped, looked around and found that she was at the base of the mountain already. Fatigue plagued her, and she sat on top of a nearby rock and panted heavily. Black edges were encircling her vision, and she gasped for air. She blinked, and the feeling ebbed away. Sighing, she rubbed at her eyes just to make sure she was feeling all right. Blinking again, she noticed a white haired man standing before her. He had strange yellow-green eyes, slitted in the pupil, almost like a lizard or cat's. He was wearing a strange outfit, half purple on one side, and half red on the other. In his hands was an odd staff, with an eyeball on top.

"Well! I was right about you being Dragonblooded! The others will not be pleased, I think that I will get you first. However, if I have you as my Champion that would be most upsetting for the others. Any who, I thought we would see each other again!" the man said cheerily, with a strange accent to his voice.

"I'm sorry. Have we met?" Khazura said.

"Yes, lass! Remember me? You called me insane! Made my day…" the man chuckled.

"Sheogorath?" Khazura stuttered out incredulously.

"The one and only! At least I think I'm the one and only…"

"Be your Champion? I'm too young to be a Daedric Prince's Champion…"

"I think not… but if it makes you feel better, you can be mine in months or so…" He laughed.

"Ah, I don't think…" She started.

Laughing, he spun around to stride away but halted at the last moment. "No, no no. You'll be my champion. I'm leaving here now... ta ta, my future Champion! Oh, and here have a little gift from me. Thank Haskill while you're at it. He's the one who requested helping you... Sweet dreams, dearie!" He giggled.

Falling into a pitch-black abyss, she felt Oblivion pull at the very fibers of her being, and pushing them towards a new destination.

* * *

Waking up in a bed, she jolted up and she was afraid of where she was. Khazura was surrounded by familiar stonewalls, and the smells reminded her of Jorrvaskr but for all she knew she could be in Namira's realm. Looking around she noticed all of the same decorations and strewn mead bottles around where Torvar's bed would be. But looking to the bed across her, she noticed a bored looking Breton who sat tiredly, and was dressed in strange black and red clothing.

"Ah, you're awake. My lord has sent you here. He thought to tell you how you got here, although he cannot tell you himself right now. The Isles are having need of tending so he is busy… Oh, and my name is Haskill." Haskill drawled out in a monotone voice.

"Haskill? Sheogorath told me…" Khazura started, the pieces clicking into place.

_A little gift, huh… _Khazura mused, recognizing that he had transported her to Jorrvaskr.

She looked back at the Breton, but he was gone. Still searching through the whelps' quarter for Haskill, she sighed as she found none.

"Why is it that everyone disappears on me now?" She complained.

"Everyone? Talk about you! You left me on a cold mountain alone! I had to run Tarjir all the way to Whiterun!" Aela screamed as she stalked down the stairs and yanked open the doors overhearing Khazura's complaint.

Quietly, Khazura spun around on the heels of her feet and faced the fuming Nord.

"I'm sorry, Aela. I-" Khazura started.

"Did you just say sorry? Are you feeling alright?" Aela snorted.

"Yes, I did apologize! But now I'm not sorry!" Khazura spat.

"Fine. Continue on." Aela laughed.

"Well, to me it was a contestof running until I noticed I was at the base of the mountain and you were no where to be , I got sick and lightheaded, and I sat down. Next, Sheogorath of all people appeared, offered me to be his Champion and then teleported me here. So that's my story." Khazura hissed.

"Alright. I believe you. However, you owe me thirty laps around Jorrvaskr. Let's move it, girl!" Aela chortled.

Hissing in annoyance, she stripped herself of her armor to run faster, and she pelted out the door to start her laps. She flew over the ground, feeling like one with the sky and she crowed out in joy. _This wasn't such a bad consequence after all_… Khazura thought. She had barely broken a sweat when Skjor called out to her saying that she was done.

"You were there all along? I didn't even notice you…" Khazura muttered.

"Yes, I was watching and Aela made me count your laps. I haven't seen someone run that slow in years, whelp." Skjor sighed. "Aela owes me big. Now run along to Aela's quarters. She said she'd have a bath ready for you…"

"Slow? What are you talking about, joore?" Khazura growled.

Realizing she had just used dovah speech, she blanched. She was starting to sound like Alduin...

Skjor didn't notice and went on prattling on about her bad form but Khazura cut in and told him she would be going downstairs. He told her to hurry up or else he would throw her into the water with all her clothes on. Khazura simply nodded and continued down to Aela's quarters. Just before she was going to knock, Khazura caught a whiff of a sweetroll and a platter of meat. Following her nose, she trailed after the fragrance like a bloodhound. Finding the meat and sweetroll on the table, she scarfed down her favorite meal in a heartbeat. Farkas soon walked over to his chair, and found his food plate empty. He scowled but turned around to find a giggling Khajiit girl behind him. Scooping her up in his arms, he hugged her and told her he had missed her.

"Stop it, you giant wolf!" Khazura squealed.

Freezing at her comment, he instantly dropped her to the ground. Gruffly, he apologized but strode away from her. Confused, Khazura shrugged and went back down to take her bath.

* * *

After she was clean and felt great, Khazura went outside to the training yard. The sun was low in the sky, and she pulled out her bow that she brought with her. She carefully aimed at the center, but missed by six inches to the right. Cursing her luck, she fired again, but this time she missed her target by seven inches.

"Oh, by the Nine…" Khazura muttered.

She drew back quickly and shot her arrow into the inner ring, but not in the small white circle. Khazura continued her plight until the sun had sunk and the moons were out. Sighing in frustration, she strung her bow around her back and headed back into Jorrvaskr. She found the Circle gathered around the long table drinking mead and ale. After demanding an answer to where all the other whelps were, she finally found out they asleep downstairs from the hard drilling earlier in the day.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Khazura called.

"We're playing a game, girl!" Skjor slurred, obviously drunk.

She went and sat down next to Farkas, and asked how to play.

"Oh, it's easy. We all sit here together and-" Farkas began.

But, before he could finish a Wood Elf woman burst into the doors of Jorrvaskr. She was panting and stood up proudly before the group. She noticed Khazura, and stared at the girl. Khazura hissed and bared her teeth at the newcomer, hoping to displace the elf's gawking. Vilkas stood to go over to the elf, and she asked her name.

"I'm…I'm Taelin." She stuttered.

"Well, I'm sure you're here to join the Companions. Go downstairs to the very right door and speak to Kodlak Whitemane. He'll tell you if you can join." Vilkas said coolly.

Whispers then flowed through the hall as fast as the mead did. Vilkas just glared after the little elf, then turned and growled something to Skjor. Skjor snickered and sat down to guzzle more ale down. Aela just sighed at the men, and said that she was brave coming here.

"Why? I got in…" Khazura snorted. "I didn't like the way she gawked at me, though."

"Yes, you are quite the exception. Only Vilkas and Farkas got in at a younger age than you, but they were orphans." Aela told her.

The merriment of the night slowly began to grow, and Skjor was practically swimming in mead.

"There once was a woman named Mathilda… Who sat on a bed and cracked her head!" Skjor sang horribly out of tune.

"Skjor, you're worse than Torvar!" Khazura snapped at him.

"Sure, cat! How old are you? Six? You can't tell me that I'm bad..." Skjor guffawed.

"No, I'm not six! I'm thirteen!" She spat.

Just as the oncoming quarrel was to begin, Kodlak came upstairs with Taelin trailing behind. Addressing Vilkas, Kodlak ordered him to test the elf's mettle. Snarling, Vilkas spun and marched out of the mead hall's doors. Taelin just stood there and glowered at his back. Khazura laughed as she saw the woman's expression and told her to go outside to spar with Vilkas.

"Is he always that way?" Taelin queried.

"Yep. But I've never seen him so mad before, not even when he was sparring with me!" Khazura said.

"Well, I should go after him…" Taelin muttered.

The Companions all surged outside to watch the match. The whelps sat down at the foot of the tables while the Circle stood up or leaned against the wood beams. Vilkas seethed with rage as he watched Taelin tighten her leather armor and pulled out a steel sword the length of her arm.

"Come at me, Bosmer. We'll see if you'll make it." He sneered.

She darted forward and swung her sword to meet against his shield as Vilkas deflected her blow. She slashed at his side, but he blocked it again. This time, she feigned a swipe and while he tried to block her sword, she crouched down and hooked the flat of her sword to his knee, causing him to fall to the ground. Cursing, Vilkas stood up and glared at her. He thrust his shield towards her, pointing out all of the dents.

"You see those? Go take them to Eorlund Grey-mane in the morning tomorrow. Farkas, show her where the whelps sleep." He growled.

The crowd dispersed and everyone went back inside to escape the chilly air, all except Khazura. When she was sure everyone was inside, she ran over to one of the tall pillars of wood and sank her claws into it to climb up to the top of the roof. She scurried up to the beam in the center of the roof, and curled up next to the vent that had warm air flowing out of it. She sighed contently and tucked her head under the small overhang and waited for sleep.

* * *

**Well, that was interesting. I told you I would have a new OC, didn't I? Well, that was Taelin. And for all of you people who have only played Skyrim, Haskill was the advisor to Sheogorath in Oblivion,DLC Shivering Isles… Oh, how I loved that game. And my character in Oblivion was a Bosmer named Taelin so of course I named this OC after her… Who knows who she really is in my story? Only I do! (I think…) And this was a particularly short chapter, I know. Well, R&R before Sheogorath steals your cheese!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well... Daedra! Daedra! Daedra! Have fun with this! :)**

**And of course, I don't own Skryim only my Khazura and Taelin. **

* * *

Chapter 7: Curses of the Princes

"Hey, cat! Wake up, and get your armor on!" Vilkas shouted up to the roof of Jorrvaskr.

Groggily, Khazura sat up from her roost, and peered down at the irritated Nord. She stood up on her wood beam, and showed him her already equipped armor.

"I already had it on, icebrain." She yawned, with her eyes fixed on Vilkas awaiting his reaction.

"Hmph. What kind of person sleeps with their armor on?" He sneered.

"Well, apparently she does, Vilkas. No need to judge." A cool voice drawled.

"Oh, the elf. How brave of you, to talk to your superiors like that…" Vilkas snarled mockingly.

Taelin just smirked, and sauntered off towards the archery posts. Her smile grew even wider as she saw Vilkas puff up in indignation. Obviously, Vilkas was irked by her and not just because she was an elf. Khazura slid down the roof and landed silently, while creeping past Vilkas.

"Stupid skeever-brain…" She muttered as she made her way over to Taelin. Greeting her with a smile, Taelin made gestures towards the archery targets.

"You any good? Oh, and what's you're name? I never got it." She asked.

"I'm Khazura. And yes, I know I am young, but I've seen things that would make grown men scream."

"I'm sure you have… I have seen my fair share of that as well." Taelin replied.

Khazura only snorted, and picked up a spare bow that was lying around. She shot an arrow into the inner ring, and she smiled with satisfaction. Taelin pulled back her drawstring, and fired the arrow straight into the small white dot, making a bull's eye.

Khazura rolled her eyes and said, " I wasn't expecting any less. You probably have been training since you were five years, right? I don't need to know anyways. If Vilkas told me to get my armor on, you should too. We're probably going on a bandit hunt again."

"Sure. Hey, thanks for being nice to me. You're the only one who has talked to me like a person, and meant it."

"Thanks? You shouldn't be treated any less of a person, especially because of your race. I've had it all my life, since I'm Khajiit. Heck, I'm not even allowed into cities, technically!" she responded.

Respect lit up in Taelin's eyes, and she nodded at her.

"I'll go. Do you think it's just going to be the pair of us? I mean, as partners?" Taelin asked.

"I don't know. Kodlak always says that I have to go with Vilkas…" Khazura muttered.

Khazura then set down her spare bow on one of the tables, and trotted inside to retrieve her rightful bow and dagger. Once she was all done, she found only a handful of Companions in a straight line in the mead hall. Seeing Taelin, Aela, Vilkas, Skjor, and Farkas, Khazura made her way next to Taelin's side. Aela waved in greeting, and Khazura merely twitched her tail in response. Aela's brows rose in surprise, but quickly adapted a stoic expression when Vilkas stalked towards the line.

"All right! Kodlak has informed me that a certain benefactor has a frostbite spider infestation, and we are to take care of it. As always, we shall go in pairs, and the new whelp, Taelin, is having an extra test to ensure her place amongst the Companions. Khazura, you're with the elf, Aela with Skjor, and Farkas you're with me." Vilkas snarled.

"Wait a minute… Another test? Kodlak really said that?" Aela enquired. "I mean, no one else has ever had to do this… Are you sure that you aren't being rude to Taelin?"

"Shut up, Aela! Who is the Beta of this pack?" Vilkas roared.

"You are, Vilkas. But who is the Alpha? I am, whelp." Skjor growled.

Vilkas quieted down, but he still scowled at Taelin. He tightened his sword belt, and went out of the doors. Everyone stared but quickly ran after him.

"Vilkas, where are we off to?" Skjor shouted.

"Somewhere!" He growled.

The group hustled to keep up with the Nord, and Vilkas screamed for them to go their fastest. Surprisingly, Taelin was loping at a pace that matched with Vilkas and he growled low in his throat at her. She was startled at this, and slowed down for a minimal amount of time, but Vilkas took this opportunity and surged forward ahead of Taelin. However, Taelin had the speed and grace that a sabercat would envy and she sped ahead of him, demanding where they were headed.

Winds tore at heated words, and a verbal battle began. Curses flew at the two combatants, and Vilkas lost his patience. Khazura noticed a strange scent on the air, musky but sweet, and she blanched. The Circle members slowed to a halt, and they shouted at Vilkas to control his temper. He ignored them though, and the scent grew stronger. Vilkas swelled in size, and his girth widened. He snarled at Taelin, and somewhere deep within him, a noise like no other issued forth.

"Circle members! You're friend here cannot control his condition!" Taelin yelled.

_Condition? _Khazura thought. Vilkas continued to growl and loom over the little Bosmer.

"Listen, Companions! I know your secret, and all of you have been blessed by Hircine, except for the little one!" Taelin screamed.

_Hircine! What does he have to do with anything? _

Khazura lurched, as time slowed to a crawling pace and words distorted, echoing around the tundra. A sudden sick feeling overcame her, and she blanched again.

"Oh, ho! Sheogorath was right about you! Well, Dragonborn, you shall not be only Sheogorath's Champion…" a voice laughed behind her.

A man with the horns of a stag, the fur of a wolf, and the body likeness of a man was standing behind Khazura. Khazura stared at him, and realized that the man was Hircine, god of the hunt.

"Hircine? Another Daedric Prince is after me? Oh, gods." Khazura muttered.

"Oh, yes mortal. Not just me, little dragon. There are also three others, you know. You are most popular, ah, mortal child amongst the Princes. I think once old Sheo gets you, I'll get you second. Then, maybe- oh. He doesn't want me to tell you. Well, now you know that a male Daedra wants you too. Besides Sheo and me. I have slowed time down for you, so now a little event will unfold involving one of my, mmm, children, will be present. And no one will have seen me, so pay attention to what is going to be, little dragon. Ah, Akatosh, playing your little games again, I see…" Hircine mused.

"That Bosmer is going to have a hard time with her Hunt, I think. Or, maybe the prey will be driven into a trap, like a bear up a tree…" Hircine continued.

"What on Nirn are you talking about?" Khazura grumbled.

"You shall see, little dragon. The choices you shall make now may change your fate. Of course, that is always what happens. However, do not get involved in the fight. If you do, you may be… altered. At least-never mind. My time here is growing to a limit. You see, I am only in spectral form, little one. I shall leave you now, and of course, return later." He said somberly.

Time shifted once more, and returned to its normal standards. Khazura shivered but paid close attention to the fight.

_Hmm… Hircine's children are werebeasts, but he also guards the prey and hunters. I do not see a blood moon, so I assume that a… Oh Talos. The Circle are werebeasts. But what type? Most likely werewolves, I think._ Khazura pondered silently.

Vilkas had doubled in width, and he ripped off his armor with inhuman strength. He howled as hair sprouted from his body and his nails grew to sharp points. He groaned as his bones elongated including his facial features, which stretched into a wolf like image. A snout emerged, with blunt canines jutting from the werewolf's jaw. Vilkas, in the form of a wolf, roared as his body fully went into place. All the time had taken place was a mere minute, and a glaring wolf threw pointed looks at Taelin. She growled at him, and he roared at her causing intense fear to build up in Khazura. She wanted to flee, but her blood quelled the fear and she watched onwards. Taelin showed no signs of fear, only aggression towards the werewolf. The Circle had also begun to transform into their wolves as well, but the anger was not present in their eyes. They had transformed to control Vilkas, who was beginning to charge the Bosmer woman. However, she leapt back as Vilkas threw a swipe of flurrying claws towards her face. Taelin shouted at him to control his rage, but he growled at her again.

"So much growling, wolf! Calm yourself, before you get hurt!" Taelin taunted.

Hatred showed clearly in Vilkas' eyes, and he charged her again, but she jumped on his back. He ran quickly, trying to relieve himself of his extra weight, but was unsuccessful.

"Hear me, Nord! Someone will see you! Change yourself, now!" Taelin commanded.

Vilkas slowed down, but he didn't change form. Aela was running towards him, when Vilkas bucked Taelin to the ground and started off towards Khazura. Khazura stood her ground, and Taelin screamed for her to move. Vilkas lunged forwards, but Khazura didn't move a muscle. Blood sang from her wounds, and Khazura cried out as it streamed into her eyes and down to the now crimson snow. Vilkas halted, and turned his snout to the wind, smelling the blood. Something broke in his eyes, and he slumped towards the tundra moss. Khazura fell forwards as well, and landed on top of a soft, solid, and warm mass.

* * *

A coppery scent filled the air, and Khazura coughed. She awoke on top of a panting wolf, which she realized was Vilkas. She tried to scramble away, but she winced as her wounds reopened themselves. Blood oozed out slowly, and she felt pain lance through out her body. Gasping, she curled into a fetal position, and Vilkas shifted from lying on his chest to lying on his back, cupping the little Khajiit girl carefully with his clawed hands. She sighed, and fell into a delirious sleep. Vilkas shuddered at the smell of blood, even while still in lupine form. He felt his body try to slip into his human form, but he quelled the feeling knowing if he shifted back, he could potentially rip open the girl's wounds open even farther from her moving position. Glancing around, Vilkas noticed the Circle was absent, and Taelin was far up a tree observing the two from the air. He growled as the girl moved, whimpering in her unconsciousness undoubtedly from her fear of him.

* * *

_Khazura's POV_

_I woke up into the same dark abyss from where I had viewed Alduin. I could make out two distinct shapes, one a werewolf and the other an ebony dragon. The werewolf growled at me, but soon turned tail, as it smelled my blood, which was the blood of a dragon's. Alduin, which I assumed was the ebon dragon, laughed as I glared at him._

"So, mey joore. We meet again, and I see that your little encounter with one of Hircine's children didn't go so well. Maybe it didn't mean to kill you, but if it does, I shall reward it with a less painful death if you die. After all, it did put your death into motion. Well, joor, we shall find out your fate soon enough." Alduin grated.

_The darkness enveloped me once more, and I curled up into the darkness awaiting true slumber._

* * *

_No POV_

Vilkas felt his body grow weary, for it had never held werewolf strength for this amount of time and he slipped into a weakened state. He wheezed as his body shifted back into human shape. Khazura trembled as she climbed back into reality, to find a not so exactly dressed Vilkas underneath her.

"Oh for the love of Sheogorath. Why did you have to shift back now? You could've dressed yourself." Khazura muttered, the small amount of white fur on her face tinged scarlet.

She scouted the trees, seeing Taelin hunched up at the very top of one tall pine. She was looking towards the Khajiit, and waving a red potion in her hands. Taelin launched it into air, which flew towards the startled Khajiit and she shouted for her to catch it. With a stroke of luck, Khazura snatched the health potion out of the air, and downed it with a grimace at its herbal taste. The wounds sealed well enough, and Khazura leapt off of Vilkas in a heartbeat.

"Thank Hircine. That could've been worse, I guess."

Taelin scrambled down from her roost, and made her way over to Khazura.

"What should we do about him? And where are the Circle members?" Khazura asked.

"Oh, the Circle went to the frostbite spider den, which they must've reached hours ago. I stayed here to watch over you two, and Skjor vaguely told me that Vilkas would be… well, nude. I knew that you would be spitting fire and acid, but you only just jumped off him. You have more maturity than most do, especially at your age." Taelin explained, while tugging a pair of pants onto Vilkas.

"I guess. How did you know they were werewolves?"

"Oh, I don't know. I had a sense for it." Taelin muttered, avoiding the question.

"Hmph." Khazura grumbled.

Khazura helped Taelin haul Vilkas onto a wood carrier she had made quickly, and the two dragged the weary Nord back towards Whiterun. When the trio arrived to the gates, the guards laughed at the attempt to carry Vilkas up to Jorrvaskr.

"Your friend drank too much mead, huh? That's all the Companions are good for, I say." One guard sniggered.

"Wait! The Companions didn't help us with the dragon… we did it all by ourselves!" another chimed in.

"No, you weren't there. I was, fools. That Khajiit girl, there, slayed a dragon and stole its soul. Rongar, you can't even drink less than a pint of mead, yourself, so what can you say about mead? Besides, the Companions are a group of noble warriors that could beat you on their worst day, when you where on your best." A familiar voice rang out.

Khazura gratefully looked up at a guard, and recognized that it was the same one who had gone back to give her the bones and scales of Mirlimur.

"Thanks, sir."

"No problem, Dragonborn. Need any help?"

"No, sir. We'll be on our way, now." Khazura muttered.

Taelin jerked the litter, and Khazura hoisted her side up and continued to Jorrvaskr. They got there just before the sun had peaked midway in the sky, and they sighed with exhaustion as they shoved Vilkas into the mead hall. Torvar came over, and noticed the dead to the world Vilkas, and helped drag him towards his quarters.

"Well… I'll be off now, ladies. Probably off to Honninbrew, you can just smell the honey on the wind." Torvar snuffled.

"I'm exhausted. Wanna come to the whelps' quarters to catch up on some sleep? I know I'm sleeping for the day…" Khazura yawned.

"Sure. I'm beat as well." Taelin agreed.

The two shuffled to the whelps' den, and fell into bed snoring loud enough to shake the earth.

* * *

Two days later, Khazura woke up with a splitting headache and at first she thought she was drunk.

"I haven't even drunk anything... I'm too young..." Khazura complained to Tilma.

"Well, dear, that's right. You haven't drunk enough water, and you sure haven't eaten any food for two days." Tilma told her.

"What? Two days!" Khazura exclaimed. "Gimme food!"

A snorting Farkas strode over, handing her a plate of meat, her favorite, and then snatched his hand away as the ferocious Khajiit tore into her food like a ravenous wolf.

Mouth full of food, she rumbled," Hehy howsh Vilkash doin? I hopes I haven't had to drags him up here for noshin!"

Farkas laughed at her attempt at speech, and replied," He's fine. I'll tell you about it later, though."

"No, he'll tell you about he's doing himself." a gruff voice came.

A weakened Vilkas limped into the quarters, and sat on the edge of a bed across from Khazura. He winced as he sat, and rubbed at one of his shoulders.

"How are you doing, Khazura?" he muttered.

"Excuse me? Tilma check if he has a fever! I've never heard him say my name before, only cat or girl." Khazura teased.

Vilkas scowled at her then shooed Tilma out of the room, saying that he was fine.

"I'm fine, Tilma. Just leave me be!"

Tilma left shaking her head, and went to go clean the rest of Jorrvaskr.

"I'm doing fine. How are you? I didn't see you get hurt though."

"I... I wasn't hurt directly. But, I stayed in my other form for far too long. I only stayed like that because I didn't want to hurt you more than I already had. I lost control of my beast, and almost hurt Taelin, and I did hurt you." Vilkas sighed.

"I think that's your version of an apology. I accept anyhow." Khazura chuffed.

"Whatever, cat."

"See! You must be feeling better." she giggled.

Vilkas arose, and helped the little Khajiit girl to her feet, and Khazura gasped as her wounds pulsed with pain. Farkas helped the two out of the quarters and up to the mead hall. A bouncing Taelin rushed over to Khazura fussing over her wounds like a mother hen.

"You should still be in bed, Khazura! You should too, Vilkas." She chided.

"What is it with women? They fuss and chide me about being awake!" Vilkas grumbled.

"Oh, they don't care much about you, wolfboy. Taelin is merely being kind." a dark voice drawled.

Khazura sniggered as she recognized the voice.

"Sheogorath. Are you here to check up on me?" She snorted.

Taelin spun around and stared at the Daedric Prince, gasping as he waved hello to her.

"Taelin, dear. How have you been? Oh, never mind. YOU know, of course, that I know that already! Oh, and Haskill says hello to you, darling!" He giggled.

The Circle members that were present gawked at the colorful clad Sheogorath, and no whelps were present inside the mead hall. Another voice broke in, and Khazura just acknowledged this one with a flick of her hand.

"Hello, Hircine. Nice to meet you again. Anyone else coming along?" she sighed.

"No, little dragon. Just us two, I believe." He answered.

"Hey! I was here first! Also, dogbreath, only I get to call the Dragonborn pet names. ONLY I DO! YA UNDERSTAND?" Sheogorath yelled.

Hircine merely sighed, but nodded to him. He turned towards Khazura and gave her a small wink.

"Well, we both are here to check on you. After all, one of my children did harm you." Hircine said, while glaring at Vilkas.

Vilkas glared back at him, but shrank down as Hircine grew more lupine shaped. Vilkas sank down in submisson, as well as the rest of the Circle. They lay with their throats exposed, and Hircine smiled.

"Oh, good. You little ones still remember who is the true Alpha, here."

"Let's get on with this. Not that I don't enjoy doing business... actually I don't. It is no fun, and is completely sane. Sane is Jyggalag's problem, not mine." Sheogorath muttered.

"Well, lass. Now that we know that you're fine, we should leave. The Isles need me! And of course, Haskill does too... And, Taelin dear, shut your mouth. You're gonna catch flies! Ooh, a fly pie! That would be interesting." Sheogorath continued.

Taelin snapped her jaw closed, and raised a hand in goodbye as Sheogorath shimmered and disappeared. Hircine's shadow grew to the size of a massive werewolf, and swallowed Hircine up and he vanished as well. The shocked Companions turned to stare at Khazura, who was modestly picking at her nails. When she noticed their stares, she just snorted and told them about her encounters. Aela knew about Sheogorath, but not Hircine. When the tale was told, everyone then looked to Taelin, who had recognized the Mad God.

"Oh, it's a long story... One I'd prefer not to tell right now." She sighed.

"You'll have to tell us soon, though..." Vilkas demanded, with a hint of malice in his voice.

"Yes, yes..."

* * *

**And that, my people, is where this chapter ends! So many Daedra! So many! So, who do you think the next Daedric Prince is? Mwahaha... R&R, please! And, in case you didn't know, Beta is second in command.**


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter will be more about Taelin's past, than Khazura. They- well, you'll just read it anyways. Read on my friends!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Blood and Darkness

After the little event including the Daedric Princes, the room full of people dispersed quite rapidly. Khazura ran outside up to her roost on top of Jorrvaskr, while the Circle each went to their own rooms. Taelin had gone outside to the training ground, slamming arrow after arrow into the center of the targets. This continued for at least four hours, until the smell of cooked meat and vegetables wafted into the pure air. Like a bloodhound, Khazura trailed into Jorrvaskr finding a feast worthy of a Daedric Prince lying on the tables. Steaming crabmeat was piled high onto platters, with sweetrolls decorating the sides of the plates. A sauce was delicately spread on venison, while smoked slaughterfish steaks were laid on plates. Sweet bread had honey glazed on it, and Khazura drooled at the other assorted delicacies.A sweet aroma hung in the air, which smelled like an herbal tea. Finding a hastily scrawled note on a keg of warm liquid, Khazura strained her eyes to read the nearly illegible script.

_Ah, my dear Khazura. At least I hope this is you who is reading this, little dragon. If not, well, then have fun with this tea, random reader. But this is addressed to the little Khajiit child, so please deliver it to her. Khazura, this is a Daedric tea, a gift from Sheogorath himself. To him and the few who has drunk it, it is a pure delight. After all, he does have a city named Bliss. All of the meat and other foods have been provided by myself, the God of the Hunt, your one and only, Hircine. I know that this is hard to read, but I tried. I do not have very much time to write, for I must go on a Hunt soon, but I felt bad just leaving a hungry little dragon to only eat smoked venison… Ah, just keep the Circle away from the goat. It has an herb that would not agree with their beasts._

Khazura laughed as she read Hircine's note, and she found a tankard on one of the nearby tables. She filled it up to the brim, and inhaled the scent. She sighed with happiness and took a sip. A faint strawberry and cream flavor hid behind the strong tea, which tasted like what pure bliss would be like. Khazura downed her tankard, and was pouring another, when a surprised Aela strode into the room.

"Where did all of this come from? Did Tilma and Brill cook it all? Wait a minute… Are you drinking ale, girl?" Aela said suspiciously.

"No! It's tea, Aela!" Khazura protested. "Hircine brought the food, and I found tea leaves on the spice shelf…"

"We don't drink tea in Jorrvaskr… Where did you get this tea?" Aela demanded.

"Fine! Sheogorath delivered it to me!" Khazura snapped.

"Fine! Why don't you go find your little elven friend, huh? You don't need a Nord werebeast, anyways!" Aela shrieked.

"Is that why you've been acting weird? You think I don't like you anymore, right?" Khazura murmured.

"What? Where did you get that from?" Aela snarled.

"Listen to you both! Aela, you are acting strange. Khazura, do not talk to Aela like that." Vilkas said, while walking in.

"I could hear you two from down below! And look at this food! You are fighting while such a thing is growing cold!" He shook his head.

"You're right, Vilkas. We should eat this food. Aela, I just connect to Taelin like she is a sister I never had… more than I have connected to you." Khazura shot at Aela.

Taelin chose the worst time to arrive into the mead hall, and if looks could kill, she would have died from the baleful glares thrown at her from Aela. Aela stalked down to the end of the table, opposite from where Khazura had sat down. Taelin looked confused at Aela's death stares but took a seat next to the little Khajiit girl. She smiled, and Khazura waved at her.

"How have you been? Today has been… interesting, yes?" Taelin greeted.

"I'm good. This feast is marvelous! It came from Hircine, and some amazing tea is over there." Khazura told her, while motioning over to the keg of tea.

Taelin rose, grabbed a tankard of her own, and topped hers off. She sighed, as if remembering something from years long ago.

"Sheogorath delivered this, didn't he?" She asked, not to anyone in particular.

"Yes, he did. How did you know?" Khazura questioned.

"I've been to his realm one or two times."

Eventually, the Companions all surfaced from their hiding spots and dug into the surplus of meat and vegetables. They ate so plenty, and Farkas downed a whole keg of mead. He was drunk and so was Skjor, and they waddled back down to their separate quarters once the night was upon them.

"Aww come on! You two can't leave me with these bunch of fools!" Vilkas complained.

Aela growled at him, "I'm not a fool, Vilkas. You better learn that."

With that, Aela pushed off of the table and stalked somewhere to go brood. Taelin sighed at her retreat, and asked Khazura to come with her outside. When the two reached the training ground, the Bosmer woman exhaled a plume of white air, and Khazura stared at the gleaming stars.

"You know, I've seen you up on the roof. Do you sleep up there?" Taelin enquired.

"Sometimes. You're welcome to join me up there. It's quiet, and you can see the stars. I love stars. Sometimes, I think I could just fly in the sky just like a dragon. I wish I could…" Khazura breathed.

"Hmm… Why don't we go up to your nest?" Taelin suggested.

Khazura nodded, and vaulted up the wood beams and waited for Taelin to attempt to climb up. Taelin leapt high, and her fingers caught the edge of the roof. She scrambled upwards, and Khazura pulled her up to the main intersecting beam, and then the girl nestled herself into the crook of the building.

"It is nice up here. I can see why you like it so much. You want to know how I recognized Sheogorath? Well, I can tell you why…"

Khazura eagerly waited for the story to begin, but Taelin was rummaging in her satchel that she had brought up with her. She pulled out a large tall bottle that had an inky green liquid sloshing around inside.

"This will allow you to go through my memories. It was a gift from Vaermina herself, for a favor I did for her long ago. This is a potion similar to her Torpor, but it allows two people to go through the first drinker's mind. I shall show you everything I can, and this doesn't have a time limit, unlike Vaermina's original Torpor." Taelin said.

Taelin downed half of the potion's contents, and she thrust the bottle out to Khazura. Khazura drank the rest, and a woozy sensation settled across her mind. She slid out of reality, and into a dark haze.

* * *

"Wake up!" Taelin nudged her.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't I be alone in your place?" Khazura muttered.

"No. Remember? This is different than the real Torpor."

Khazura nodded, and Taelin closed her eyes. A green light shone, and it embraced the pair.

"Well, I guess we're in the past, now. It will begin soon." Taelin whispered.

* * *

_A forest was surrounding a Bosmer child, who was playing in its depths, along with her brother._

"That's me! And my brother, Vyarl…" Taelin commented.

"_Vyarl! Come on! I hear some deer over there! Keep up now!" a younger version of Taelin squealed._

"_Okay! I'm coming, Tae!" the little boy chirped._

_His short stubby legs couldn't keep up with his older sister's pace, so he tripped on a root. Taelin kept running on, unaware that her brother had tripped. She turned around, not seeing her brother, and she started to panic._

"_Vyarl? Vyarl this isn't funny! Come here! We're going home, now…"_

_A far away voice cried out, "I'm over here, Tae! Come quick! I'm… I'm hurt!"_

_Taelin flew into a sprint, upsetting the roosting birds in the trees, which flapped away into the clear sky. Taelin found Vyarl sitting on the ground, tears streaking across his face. His knee was scraped, and he was trembling._

"_I thought I was lost… Don't leave me again."_

_Taelin brushed the tears of his face, and used a small spell to heal his knee._

"_All better. We can go home…"_

The scenery changed, and warped into an image of the Imperial City.

* * *

_An older looking Taelin was clad in leather, with a shortsword strapped to her hip. Also, a more grown Vyarl was sitting on the ground, concentrating on a ball of golden magic._

"_Tae, guess what!" he exclaimed._

"_You got into the Thieves Guild. Yeah, I heard. You better not get caught, Vy." She muttered._

_He pouted, and his magic pulsed, and he disappeared. His shadow was still remaining, but his image was gone._

"_I believe with this spell, I won't get caught. Besides, we've lived here in the Waterfront District for six months, ever since we left mother. I'll be fine." Vyarl sighed._

"_Sure. Even the best thieves get caught." Taelin grimaced._

"_I'll take care of myself! You don't always need to protect me…" _

_Taelin glared at him, but found him blending perfectly with his surroundings. _

"_I can still see your shadow, though."_

"_I know! I'm working on it." He chirped._

"_You'd be better off from the Mages Guild. No illegal activities, no sneaking around…" Taelin told him._

"_Mph. I only steal from minor people, so far."_

"Ah, that will not last long…" Taelin sighed again.

* * *

_The city was dark and a shadow crept alongside a large manor. A thief flew into the building, scaling the walls to the upper window. Torches lit up the thief's face, and it turned out it was Vyarl. Vyarl snuck into the house, while Taelin was sleeping soundly in her bed. Half an hour later, Vyarl slipped out of the house unnoticed, or so he thought. The minor lord of the estate had seen his face, and quietly went back to bed, planning a dark future for the young Bosmer thief. Unknowing, Vyarl went to his guild and sold the valuables he had stolen and fetched a nice price. Hefting a large sum of Septims in his hands, he tucked them away into unseen pockets. Vyarl stole back into his home, and stripped himself of his leather armor, changing into soft cotton clothes. He crawled into his bed, which was across the room from Taelin's, and he slept soundly. _

_The dawn rose, and Taelin awoke to a serene home, with a fire in the hearth with food cooking. A happy looking Vyarl was humming to himself while stirring porridge. He had cracked two eggs open and poured them on a flat stone above the fire._

"_You're up! I was waiting for you to awaken!" Vyarl said cheerily._

"_Why are you so happy? Never mind. You probably stole something didn't you?" Taelin said, while scrunching her face in irritation._

"_I'm a fighter, Vy. I kill pests and hunt in the forest. We can live well enough without your… contributions." She continued._

"_No matter. I send the extra Septims to mother, so she can have supplies well enough." Vyarl cut in._

"_You know that being a thief would break her heart, right?" _

"_I don't care! I haven't been caught, Tae!" he whined._

_Taelin spun around and marched outside, snatching up her knapsack and bow. She muttered for a while, and went and sat on the shore of Lake Rumare to ponder her brother's predicament. She practiced her archery on a helpless tree, and shot arrow after arrow into its trunk. After her practice, she went to the tree and began to climb up it, and continued to climb until the tree sagged with her weight. She poked her head out of the leaves, and sighed when she sat in the crook of two branches, still high up enough for her to see the sky. Hours had passed, Taelin realized, when she awoke from an uneasy sleep. Darkness was setting in on the sky, and she peered at her small hovel of a house. A shadowy figure was approaching the house, and she slid down her tree with choppy movements. The figure didn't notice her, and she pulled out her bow just in case. Taelin saw that the figure was a man, dressed in black robes that glistened with slivery light. She shot an arrow after she was sure he meant harm, and the man cried out in pain as her arrow landed in his upper thigh._

"_Who are you? Why are you here?" Taelin squeaked._

"_Ah, little girl. I am here to kill a man named Vyarl. Know of him?"_

"_Vyarl…" She whispered._

"_He's my brother! You can't kill him!" She screamed defiantly._

"_Vyarl must die… However, there is a way for another Bosmer named Belashin to escape." The man hinted._

_Taelin nodded, as she understood the man's meaning. _

"_Are you in the Dark Brotherhood?" Taelin muttered._

"_Yes… I am. How would you like it if you were to join us, hmm?" the assassin offered._

"_What? I… I'm no murderer." She stammered._

"_The Night Mother believes differently… but, if you ever need a family, contact a man named Lucien Lachance. He will tell you if you can join…" the assassin said._

"_Go! A guard will see you, and you will get hurt more!" Taelin told him._

_He nodded and tried to make off, but the arrow prohibited his quick escape. Taelin walked closer, and pulled it out of the wriggling assassin, and she placed her most complex healing spell over his wound. Light flowed from her fingertips, and the wound healed almost completely. The assassin hastily thanked her, and disappeared into the gloom._

"_Oh, Vyarl… you did get caught." She sighed._

_Taelin stepped into her house, and filled a knapsack with potions, rations, and her sack of Septims prepared for her brother's trip away. Tears slowly trickled down her cheeks, rubbing dirt away from her face. A knock rang on the wooden door, before it creaked open, revealing a dirty and flustered Vyarl. He squinted in the low candlelight, and his eyes widened at the knapsack._

"_Going somewhere, Tae?" Vyarl whispered._

"_No. You are. You've been caught, and an assassin is after you, Vy. I told you to be careful!" Taelin cried._

"_What?" Vyarl said, eyes widening even farther. "But… I've been so careful!"_

"_Too bad. You are going to die, and a Bosmer named Belashin is moving to Bruma. Okay?" she muttered._

_Vyarl nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. Tears streaked down his face as well, and he sniffled._

"_Tae, you're gonna have to kill someone. Someone's gonna have to die if we want the authorities to think I'm dead. You'll have to move once the case is blown over, or disappear…" Vyarl trailed off._

"_You're just a boy! Three years younger than I am! I'm still considered a girl, too! A mere sixteen years… Why would someone kill a thirteen-year-old kid like you? It's sick, even if you stole!" she shrieked._

_That night, Taelin went to a trusted friend who agreed to buy a horse for Vyarl. She made the friend swear to secrecy, and if they told, she would murder them in their sleep._

"_I'll kill you. You aren't really my friend, so I won't have any qualms about slicing your throat…" Taelin hissed._

_Vyarl was sent on his way to Bruma, along secret roads decked with strong chainmail armor and with bow and swords._

"_Be safe, Belashin." Taelin whispered to her brother._

_He nodded and grimly squeezed his horse's sides. The horse ran into a fast jolting pace and she cried as he left. Wiping her tears, she slunk into the Elven Gardens District, which she hadn't been in for years. Only the Waterfront District citizens knew her, and they wouldn't tell anything about secrets, not for any price. Taelin had dyed her leather armor a dark shadow color, which would come out in water, and she prayed to Akatosh that no rains would come. She located a beggar about the same size and height to Vyarl who was asleep, and she awkwardly stabbed at his heart with her dagger. It bounced off his ribcage, making a terrible grating noise, and his eyes flew open, preparing to scream, but Taelin stuck her knife into his throat and he died. She dragged the corpse over to a sewer grate, and drained the blood from the body into the mucky water. She used magic to hide the wounds and she began to lurch towards her house with the beggar's corpse propped against her, and she mimicked noises similar to that of a drunken man. Taelin had cleaned the site of the murder meticulously, not leaving out a possible indication to her being the killer. She nervously made her way back towards her home, and a pair of guards came around the corner of a wall cornering her. _

"_Well, what have you got there, missy? A drunk beggar?" The guard asked._

"_No, sir. He's not a beggar. He just got into a fight with some men, and they were drunk, and so was he… I think you understand what I'm saying. A drunken brawl, and he got seriously injured in the head. Doesn't talk much, sir." Taelin lied, accumulating the lower city speech._

"_All right. Nothing to see here." The other reported._

_She walked on, and reached the inner workings of the city unnoticed for she had mapped out routes from all places of the city for fast escapes if she got caught. She slunk down to the shore of the lake, and she sighed with relief when she dragged the dead beggar out to the shoreline. She chummed the water, and waited for the first slaughterfish to appear. A lazy streak of yellow slowly glided to the water surface, and snatched the bloody meat of a dead sheep. Taelin crouched, and caught the razor sharp fish with her hands, and stabbed it in its gullet. Blood leaked out, and she poured it around the dead beggar, and the still twitching fish cut the face of the man to unrecognizability. She changed the clothes from a beggar's outfit to one of her brother's favorites. She sighed, and shook with fear and exhaustion from her kill._

"_Well, at least that's done." She whimpered._

_Taelin got up and grabbed the dead fish, and tied twine on its corpse attached to a heavy stone. She swam out for a bit, carrying the body of the fish, and released it, watching as the fish sank down to the bottom of the lake. She swam back to shore, and erased her footprints of the sand, while leaving the unrecognizable beggar on shore, covered in blood. She had tried to make the murder look as professional as an assassins', and Taelin stole into her hovel. She burned the clothes she had worn, and donned a new set of soft woolen breeches and a sackcloth vest. Taelin avoided shoes for now, and she thankfully had a second pair she could wear the next day, for she had also burned her original pair to dispose of any traces of blood. She curled up in bed, and awaited sleep._

* * *

"Do you still trust me, Khazura?" Taelin spoke, still in the dream world.

Khazura nodded, and watched on as a new scene took place.

_Taelin woke early the next morning, drenched in cold sweat from nightmares. She was breathing hard, but she quelled her fears._

"_You must report your brother missing, or 'find' him dead." She muttered to herself._

_She sat up and pulled her leather armor over her soft clothes and tightened gear. Taelin strung her bow across her back, along with her quiver, and strapped a sword to her belt. She strode forward out of her house, and took one of her everyday strolls down the waterside. She found the body, and inspected it from a distance to make sure it looked perfectly like an assassination, which surprising, it did. She screamed at the top of her lungs, and started to cry._

" _Guards! Come quick, my brother Vyarl is dead!" Taelin shrieked._

_A guardsman heard her cry, and sprinted up to her. She was quivering with fake fear, and she pointed towards the body. The guard investigated the dead man, and he confirmed that it was dead._

"_The face was too mangled to tell if was your kin, but it looks like an assassination. Did your brother do anything to make someone angry? Besides, I should report this to Adamus Phillida, the Captain of Dark Brotherhood killings. I am sorry for your loss, Bosmer."_

"_I didn't know of anything Vyarl would have done… he was such a sweet boy." Taelin cried._

"_Ah, well. I'd best get going, ma'am." The guard sighed, irritated by her cries._

"_Such a good brother…"_

_The guard left, and Taelin dropped her façade of tears. She knew that she had killed, but she hadn't even known her kill's name._

"_Oh well… I don't have anyone anymore…"_

_Taelin then remembered the assassin's words, about family, but she had to make a public display of grief. She would have to bury the dead body, and there would be a headstone in the Waterfront grave for a young boy named Vyarl, not a shrunken old beggar who was unnamed._

"_Blood of Akatosh and Molag Bal!" she cursed._

_Taelin sighed, but gathered up her few belongings. A small raggedy child came behind her, expecting her to be overcome with grief and to not notice a handful of Septims being taken. Taelin whipped around as soon as she felt a light touch inside of her pocket. _

"_Guards! A pickpocket tried to steal from me!" Taelin yelled._

_A guard warily approached, and saw no one around but when he saw her shouting for a guard he sneered at her._

"_You cannot fool me, girl. There was no thief, except for you. I heard what you did the other night."_

_Taelin paled, thinking he had suspicions of her killing the beggar, but he rambled on about her stealing from some rich lord._

"_You'll have your case done, and then you'll rot in the dungeons…" He sneered._

_The guard caught her wrists and she struggled in an effort to escape the iron grip. The man tightened his hold, and crushed her bones together. Gasping in pain, she wriggled weakly trying to loosen his grip._

"_St-stop! You're hurting me!" She whimpered._

_He glared at her and dragged her towards the Emperor's palace. Halfway there, she lunged forward and bit her captor on the nose, the soft flesh squirting blood everywhere. The guard howled and let her go quickly. He scrambled after her, trying to recapture Taelin and throw her into the dungeon for good._

"_Come back here, treehugger!" He screamed._

_Taelin burst into a sprint, streaming down to the Waterfront and flew into her house. She stowed all her armor into a knapsack and threw her quiver and daggers in as well. She strapped her bow around her back, and she put her sword onto her back. Taelin tucked food rationings in, a coinpurse, and locked her house behind her. She ran to the shoreline, and she heard guards trying after her. She dove into the lake, and swam towards the other side. She listened for splashes after her, but no Legion soldiers were brave enough to swim with their heavy armor on. They cursed and shot arrows into the water, but none struck her. Taelin soon reached the other side, and heaved for breath. She ran to a nearby cave, and found it empty, but stocked with supplies for a human. Taelin searched again, just to be sure no one was living in it, and she found a fresh corpse, which had died from a cave rat bite. She found the dead rat next to the corpse, and she shot flames from her hands onto the bodies, burning them. Taelin went back to the main cavern, and lied down on a bedroll and waited for sleep._

* * *

**Well, this dream thing is not over. Far from over… and the time area is around 300E, to let you know. I shall explain more in next chapter though! **


	9. Chapter 9

**I am continuing with Taelin's memories, which I probably won't be done with for another 3 or 4 chapters. Yes, yes, I will get back to the Dragonborn eventually, but Taelin's past and future is linked to Khazura's in a very important way. You have to know Taelin's whole story to get the rest…**

Chapter 9: Ashes of the Past

_Taelin awoke late the next night, shivering from air drafts flowing in from the howling winds. Scratches were coming out of the wood barred door from the entrance of her new home. She crawled out of her bedroll, and quickly pulled on her armor. Taelin strung her bow, and knocked an arrow to the string ready for a fight. She peered into the slats, and she saw only the dusky light of twilight. A thwack hit the door, and she jumped back as she saw an arrowhead poke out of the wood boards._

"_What in Oblivion?" She cursed._

_Taelin pushed barrels and crates in front of the entrance, creating a barricade just in case intruders such as bandits, or more importantly, Legion soldiers couldn't get in. She went to the small natural rocky crawlspace high up in the cave, and she shoved all her belongings inside, pushing them into the small room behind the mouth. Arrows flew into the door, and she recognized them as fine steel arrows, ones used by the Legionnaires. Taelin leapt up into the small cavern, and pushed a rock into the hole just as the soldiers burst into the room._

"_Adamus Phillida, sir! There are no signs of the assassin or the thief child."_

"_Keep looking, men! The murderers are still in here. To think that a girl would help an assassin kill her brother just for money…" Adamus growled._

_Taelin kept her breaths even and shallow, just in case they found her little hideout and tried to fit through. She knew they couldn't for they had thick armor and wide shoulders._

"_Over there! A little peephole!"_

_She heard rustling noises, and she moved to the side of the rock, which if one of the men got their head put in the hole, they would not see her. A guard did such, and pushed the rock out of place. He looked around in the gloom light and pulled his head back out._

"_No sign of anything, Phillida. You've gone mad, I say." The guard grumbled._

"_Watch your tongue! All though you're right about nothing being here… They must be holed up in another cave." Phillida scowled._

_Taelin waited for the heavy metal of armor to fade away, and slowly she moved the rock to create an inch gap to see through. The cave was dark and gloomy, so she barely could see anything. Her eyes adjusted to the filtered light, and she sighed in relief as no one was seen._

"_That could've been worse."_

_Taelin gathered her belongings once more and squeezed out of her cramped space. She meekly slid out into the cool night air, and she peered around trying to see any Legion soldiers. Finding none, she began towards the main road to Cheydinhal when a group of bandits attacked her._

"_You there! Give us a hundred Septims, or we'll take it from your corpse." A Dark Elf woman threatened._

"_Rosaline, stop. Look at her! She's just a girl!" A burly Orc thundered._

"_How old are you?" The Orc questioned._

"_Sixteen. And, I'm being hunted by the Legion… Please don't turn me in!" Taelin squeaked._

"_What you do? Kill someone?" Rosaline joked. "I'm sorry about threating you. It's my job."_

"_Actually, I was accused of murdering my own brother. I didn't kill him though." Taelin burst into fake tears._

"_Ah, lass. You'll be fine. Our bandit chief will probably let you run with us." The Orc said, while rubbing his chin._

_The trio started northeast, and Taelin was plodding along next to the chattering bandits. Half an hour passed, and Taelin's stomach let out a wail, equivalent to that of a ghost's shriek. The bandits turned and laughed when they saw her beet red face, and the Orc tossed a bread loaf at her._

"_Here you go, girl. What's your name? Mine's Orn. Yeah, I know, pretty simple. I like it that way…" Orn muttered._

"_Taelin." She said._

_Images fluttered, and knowledge flooded into Khazura. Years had passed in memories, and Khazura found herself watching a captured Taelin, who sat in a cell of the Imperial prison._

"Two of my bandit members had been caught, along with me. The Legion had killed my two friends, Orn and Rosaline. They only spared me because I was still just a girl, a mere eighteen at the time. I cursed them in the names of the Divines, hoping the Aedra would take mercy on me and tear their souls apart. I felt disgrace flowing from the heavens, and that is when I changed, I think." Taelin whispered, as another image flooded into being.

_Taelin was restless, crouching around in the shadows, when a Dark elf sneered at her._

" _Well now, a pretty little Wood Elf. You're a little far from the forest, huh? Look like your days of woodland frolicking have come to a tragic end. To go from the gladed realm of Valenwood to a rat infested hole like this… how very sad. Those walls must feel like they're closing in on you. Pretty soon you'll go mad, and the guards will slit your throat just to stop the ranting. That's right. You're going to die in here, little girl! Die!'_

"_How nice… And I've never been to Valenwood before, dark one. Wait a minute. You're skin is as pale as a Nord's! Are you sure you aren't a half breed?" Taelin spat._

"_Nigh! I'm Valen Dreth, and no one's lived longer in here than me! Wait! You hear that? The guards are coming… for you! Hehehehe…" Valen cackled._

_Sure enough, footsteps echoed around the dirty cramped prison stairwell._

"_Sire! Wait! You must be-"_

"_Glenroy, we have no time. We must keep moving!" a haughty sounding female voice commanded._

_Two metal clad warriors came around and stopped in front of Taelin's cell. A man stood behind the warriors, and a third armored guard stood behind the regal looking man._

"_My sons are dead. I have no where to go…" the guarded man sighed._

_Taelin's eyes widened, as she recognized him as the Emperor of Tamriel. _

"_What's this? Why is there a prisoner in here? This cell is to remain unoccupied at all times!" the woman shouted._

"_I don't know. Usual mix-up with the Watch, Captain." One guard stuttered._

"_No matter. Stand aside, Bosmer. We won't hesitate to kill you."_

_Taelin pressed herself against the wall, and watched as they opened the gate and pressed a hidden lever on the stonewall._

"_Sire, come quickly. We need to escape the assassins." The Captain murmured._

_The group made haste, and one of the guards muttered about Taelin's lucky day. She continued along with the group, until a band of red clad assassins sprung out from the hidden rooms. _

"_Die old man! Your limber sons are in the grave! Why don't you join them?" One assassin goaded._

_The Emperor only sighed, and drew his gleaming silver longsword._

"_I shall not be killed by you." He said somberly, but as a fact._

"_We shall see, old man!" the assassin shouted._

_The man clumsily thrust his mace towards the Emperor, but Glenroy swung his sword and cut the hooded figure's throat. _

"_Baurus! Help me out!" Glenroy made out, while taking on another assassin. _

_The third man came forth and stabbed an assassin, while the Captain surged forth into battle._

"_For the Emperor!" The Captain cried, but a lucky hit bashed her helmet and crushed her skull._

_The Captain gurgled as blood frothed out of her mouth, and dripped onto the floor. An enraged Glenroy threw his whole weight at the Captain's killer._

"_Die, scum!" he snarled._

_The assassin's breath quickened, and quickly faded out. Clashing swords and metal clangs rang out in a metallic cry. The tinny noise heightened Taelin's senses, and a chill ran up her spine. She slipped into an almost dreamlike state, and she watched in a daze as the events rang out around her. Blood hung suspended in the air, like garnet rain descending from the sky. The assassins died quickly, and the two remaining guards circled protectively around the Emperor. The guards proceeded towards a wooden door, and the second, Baurus, paused. _

"_Don't try following us, prisoner. You can be sure of that. I'll be locking the door behind me…" Baurus growled._

_Taelin glared balefully at him as the trio paraded into a long dark hallway._

"_Goodbye, I guess. Hmm… Is that a longsword I see on the Captain's belt? She won't mind if I take it." Taelin muttered._

_Taelin shuffled towards the corpse, and she pried the sword off of the captain's belt. She sat down on a ledge and pondered her surroundings._

"_Ayleid ruins. Huh. I didn't know that they were under the prison…" Taelin mused._

_A rattling noise came from loose boards on a wall. Two rats the size of Taelin sprung out, and then blood splattered the white walls. A copper scent filled the air, and Taelin prodded at a scratch she had earned from her fight._

_Hours later, Taelin exhaustedly pulled herself from a set of cabins. She was clad in a crude leather cuirass and boots, and an iron bow. Iron arrows were slung in a quiver on her back, and she fell off into a white stone corridor._

"_More Ayleid ruins. How delightful." Taelin muttered. _

_Hearing voices, she flattened herself against the walls, muttering to the shadows about her hiding skills._

"_Thank Molag Bal for my sneaking capabilities." _

_Rustling came from across the room, and Taelin whipped out her bow, aiming for the darkness from the alternate ledge. She fired arrows, praying to Akatosh that her arrows would strike true. She heard a howl, and a smile played at her lips. She twitched out of a crouch, and dispatched another arrow into her newfound foe. Squelches came from the man, and he shrieked from the pain. He died, and another assassin flew out from the dark shadows. The Emperor and his two men chose to walk into the melee then, and the guards quickly slit the other assassin's throat._

"_The prisoner! She must be one of them! Kill her before she gets the Emperor!" Glenroy shouted._

_Taelin's mouth shot open, declaring, "How stupid must you be, guard? I just killed one of those assassins! Why would I kill one of my own?"_

"_I am no petty guard! I am a Blade, fool!" Glenroy shot back._

_The Emperor calmly commanded his men to stand down. "Calm. She is not one of them. The stars have shown me. My stars tell me I will die…"_

"_What do the stars say about me?" Taelin inquired._

"_Your stars are not mine. What are your stars, child?" The Emperor gently asked._

"_I… The Shadow. I was born under the Shadow." Taelin murmured._

"_May the Shadow hide you from fate's cunning hounds, child. I can hear a tongue shriller than death itself, calling me to my grave. The Divines have blessed me, for few men know the day of their death. Ah, the Divines have shown me something about your stars… Your blood will carry that of the Dragon's. I do not now when, or how…" the Emperor sighed._

"_Let us make haste. There could be more of those men." Baurus commented._

_The group traveled on, slaying two more rounds of assassins, until they came to an empty room. _

"_Hold on! This is the perfect place for an ambush." Glenroy muttered._

_He stalked forwards, and waved the group forward once he had checked the area._

"_Damn! This gate's locked!"_

"_This one's not!"_

"_Worth a try…" Baurus growled._

_The Blades drew their swords, and corralled the Emperor into a small room._

"_It's a dead end!"_

"_They're outside-"_

"_Guard the Emperor with your life, prisoner."_

_The events flew into fast blurred motions, and next Khazura knew, Taelin was having a private conversation with the Emperor._

"_I can go no further. You alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants. Do not look so surprised, child. Those assassins do have a master… However, the Prince must not have the Amulet of Kings! Take the Amulet. Give it to Jauffre. He alone knows where to find my last son. Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion." The Emperor said gravely._

"_What?" Taelin started._

_A gleam flashed from a new gap in a wall, and a dagger swung towards the Emperor. Taelin froze, and blood stained her cuirass._

"_Wrong day to join the side of the Emperor, girl… You'll miss out on the Master's reign." The assassin snickered._

_Taelin leapt forward, kicking the man in the solar plexus, and slid an arrowhead into his ribs. _

"_May your Master know your failure." She hissed._

_She shoved his corpse to the ground, and stepped back. The Emperor was dead. Dead…_

_Baurus ran into the room, seeing the Emperor's corpse._

"_I've failed. You've failed… We all have. May the Divines give his soul peace." Baurus mourned._

"_Wait! Where's the Amulet of Kings? It's not on the Emperor!" _

"_He gave it to me…" _

"_You. What class are you in? Thief? That's what you scum always are…" Baurus sneered._

_Taelin hesitated, and told him she was the modified assassin. _

_Firmly, she spoke," Assassin."_

_A new life. Freedom sang in her ears, and Taelin ignored Baurus' plea for her to go to the chapel where Jauffre was located. She snatched the sewer key out of Baurus' outstretched hand, and she ran all the way until she saw clean light, and smelled fresh air. Taelin screeched as she leapt into the light, and she fell into Lake Rumare._

"_Clean air! I haven't smelled that in half a year! Curse the prisons forever!"_

_She floated on her back, and then she strode up a grassy hill, and she started off to the Marked District._

**Well! So sorry for not publishing sooner, and for the short chapter. This was harder to write, so you get the gist of it though, right? I'll publish more soon!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Finally, I'm back to Khazura. Taelin's past will come back, and I'm sure you guys are wondering how she is around two hundred years old… I'll get to that eventually. Oh, and please read the very bottom…**

* * *

Chapter 10: Shadows and Blood

"Taelin! Wake up!" Khazura said, while shaking the Bosmer awake.

"We're not in the dream anymore. Come on, come on!" Khazura continued.

Groggily, Taelin sat up from her hunched position and stared at Khazura. She stood on the wide beam of Jorrvaskr, and stretched the kinks out of her back.

"Huh. Vaermina told me it wouldn't wear off…" Taelin muttered confusedly.

"Uh, it would be true, I think, if I hadn't gotten hungry. I can't go long without food…" Khazura said sheepishly.

"But… The Torpor is supposed to put us into a stasis, so we wouldn't age or need sustenance." Taelin pondered.

"Whatever… I'm hungry and kind of cold."

Khazura slid down from the roof, landing neatly on the balls of her feet. She glanced at Taelin, shrugged, and scurried into the warm halls of Jorrvaskr.

"Don't wait for me, I guess." Taelin scowled.

Khazura bounded into the hall, only to be bombarded with questions from the Companions.

"Where in Oblivion were you?" Aela demanded.

"Cat! We looked for you high and low!" Vilkas growled.

"Apparently not high enough. But I was only gone for a few minutes…" Khazura snarled at Vilkas.

"Are you on skooma right now, cat? You were gone for a day!" Vilkas snapped back.

Taelin stalked into the mead hall, dripping wet from rain. She strode past the Circle, ignoring their questions, and sat in front of the hearth.

"Don't ask me questions right now. I've been chilled to the bone, and I suggest you leave me be." Taelin said pointedly.

Khazura seethed with visible anger, and swung away from the Circle. The other members glared at Vilkas, who just growled. Khazura grabbed her nearby knapsack, filled it with food, and ran outside into the frigid rain. Vilkas cursed and sprinted after her, calling out to her as they ran.

"Hey, cat! I'm sorry!" Vilkas forced out.

Khazura ignored him, and kept running. The rain had stopped for a little while, so she made it out the main gate, and flew down towards the broken watchtower. She sped past it, and veered off away from a giant fortress, to hopefully escape Vilkas. A scent filled the wind, and Khazura blanched. An earthy, musky fragrance lifted high into the air, and Khazura cried out in fear.

"Vilkas… no!" She pleaded.

Khazura found a tree with limber branches, and quickly thought about if she could climb it in time. She wouldn't be safe, for if Vilkas was indeed in his wolf form, he could easily knock down the tree, or climb it himself. A howl filled the air, and Khazura knew she was running out of time.

"Where to go, where to go?"

Mountains loomed above her, so she started scaling their peaks. Her blood sang with excitement, and a roar followed after her. About midway to a high enough spot, Khazura heard scrabbling down below her.

"Gods, no!"

Vilkas had used his long claws to dig into the hard packed earth, making up lost time by launching up to the little Khajiit. A bout of thunder rolled across the sky, and darkness settled over the sun. Streaks of rain fell from the sky, and suddenly Khazura was terrified. The sky was continually becoming darker, and soon Khazura found herself in pitch black. Her eyes were able to pick out shapes, and she found a safe nook in between two large rocks. She squeezed into it, and huddled into a tight ball. Howling echoed around the mountain, and Khazura whimpered in fear. Blackness settled outside, and Khazura shut her eyes. A large paw tipped in fierce claws reached in and wrapped around Khazura's body. Her head hit the top of the cave and she vaguely remembered being dragged out into the wintry air.

* * *

A large scruffy wall was surrounding Khazura. She tipped her head above her, and saw vegetation draping along the ceiling of a rocky outcrop. Light streamed from a small hole in the rock and she sighed. She pushed at her small prison and it failed to move. Restless, she felt for her knapsack on her back. Failing at this, she gave up and sat for a little longer. After a while, Khazura heard a snore and she figured it was Vilkas in his beast form.

"So, I am trapped yet again, Vilkas. And you are the trap." Khazura mused.

Another grumble came from the werewolf, and a giggle escaped Khazura.

"Not so tough now, are you?"

She squirmed out of his bulk, and sat on a rock while staring at Vilkas. She had never seen a werewolf up close, except for when she was injured, but that didn't count. Ebon fur was spread all across his body, with a tail curled tightly around his thigh. Slate gray skin was showing wherever the fur wasn't, like his hands. Khazura admired his talons, until Vilkas shifted over and slept on his side, paws tucked close to his chest. His face was lupine, with a long muzzle tipped in lengthy canines. Blunt teeth filled his jaws, and Khazura wondered if he could shut his mouth with all of his sharp fangs. He whimpered in his restlessness, and subconsciously felt around for where Khazura was supposed to be. Realizing he might wake up in anger, she pulled off her knapsack, leaving it on her perch. She flung herself next to him, and curled up by his side. Having felt her presence, Vilkas snorted, and then buried his snout in her hair. Her fur tickled on the back of her neck whenever Vilkas let out a breath, and she sighed.

"Somehow, this will be the most awkward situation once you shift, I think."

* * *

Half an hour later, Vilkas relaxed out of his tense state, and then began shiver. Khazura had fallen asleep next to him, and didn't notice until Vilkas had started quivering.

"Oh, dear." Khazura sighed.

She rose and stepped away from him, starting towards the open mouth of the cave. Light streamed out, and Khazura smiled at the fresh rays of sunlight. A groan came from inside the cave, and Khazura sat down on a ledge, waiting for Vilkas to come out. A stumbling sound came and Vilkas announced his presence with a loud yawn.

"Hey, Khazura? Do you have furs I could borrow?" Vilkas said.

"Uh, no… You stay there, though. I'll go find a wolf or two to kill."

"You cannot go without a Shield-Brother! A wolf will kill you!" Vilkas protested.

"Oh? Now you're caring about me? I have taken down a dragon, Vilkas. I think I can kill a pair of wolves…" Khazura snorted.

Khazura stalked down from her ledge, and she noticed that she was at the very peak of a mountain.

"Ah, Vilkas? Are… Are we on a mountain?" Khazura stammered.

"Yes."

"Gods. Why a mountain… why couldn't it be a burrow?" Khazura complained.

Remembering her Thu'um, Khazura smiled to herself. She could be down in no time. She Shouted, and her Thu'um carried her safely down to the base of the mountain. Khazura listened intently for nearby howling or barking, and she lowered into a sneaking crouch.

"Oh. I forgot. I don't have any weapons. Thank Hircine for claws…" Khazura muttered.

After walking for a while, a quiet rustling in a bush disturbed Khazura. She hadn't smelled anything nearby. The shrub erupted into a flash of black and red, and a Dark elf sprung at her. Khazura blanched, and the man whirled daggers at her face. She yelped as one nicked her ear, and she launched herself at the man. He turned, but not quick enough, and Khazura slashed at his throat. Her claws bounced off of his leather hood, and he kneed her in the belly. She grimaced, but still held on tightly to the man's armor. Khazura screeched as he tried to stab her with another knife, but she snatched it out of his hand and stabbed his throat. After he had bled out, Khazura riffled through his satchel and pockets. She found a hefty purse of gold, which she stowed in her own pockets, and a letter. She also found a black tinted bottle that smelled bitter. After tucking the bottle away, she pulled out the letter, and read.

_Jarod,_

_You are the best assassin for this job. Some poor sod has made an employer very mad, and wishes her dead. She is a Khajiit, said to be living with the Companions, and her name is Khazura. Failure is not an option, and the employer is willing to pay five hundred Septims for her death. You are to track down your victim, and to kill her where no one will find her. You shall receive half of the sum before the killing, and the rest after proof she is dead. Do not forget that you need to contribute more Septims to the Brotherhood…_

_Astrid_

"An assassin? Who have I angered?" Khazura whispered.

Shrugging, Khazura stripped the assassin of his armor, and thankfully, the armor was roughly the size of Vilkas. She stowed it in her knapsack, and Shouted her way back up the mountain. She found the cave again, and found a resting Vilkas in a mossy carpet. Khazura went by him and shrieked. Vilkas shot up, and glared at her.

"Rise and shine, Vilkas. I got armor for you." Khazura laughed.

"Where'd you get armor?" Vilkas said suspiciously.

"Oh, I was attacked by an assassin. You know, like every other ordinary day…"

"What? I'm not wearing an assassin's armor…" Vilkas muttered.

"Oh, then you can go get some other clothes." Khazura said, while tipping her head up.

She threw the armor at him, while turning around awaiting him to be dressed. He dressed quickly, and told her they needed to be going.

"The sun will be down soon, for you took so long getting me clothing."

"Hmph."

Vilkas started down the mountain, and Khazura Shouted her way down. Khazura sat on a rock, and Vilkas soon met her there. He said he had no time to waste, having to keep walking slowly for her, so he scooped her up in his arms and ran towards Whiterun.

"How far are we from Whiterun?" Khazura shouted over the wind.

"I don't know. Probably eight miles." Vilkas shouted back.

Khazura sighed, and curled up tightly in his arms, inhaling the faint musky scent of the wolf. Vilkas had kept up his fast pace for a while, not showing signs of fatigue at all. Khazura's tail flowed in the wind, and she tried pulling it in, when a roar echoed from the sky. Vilkas glanced up, and gasped as he saw a dragon circle lazily in the sky. He tensed and began to slow down, and set Khazura on her feet.

"Can you kill it with your Thu'um?" He asked.

"No… But I can with my claws." Khazura said cheekily.

"You can't- oh. Never mind. I'll help you if I can."

The dragon began descending and let out a roar that shook the heavens.

"Dovahkiin! Alduin laan hi dilon! Zu'u los ok aar, wo fent drun mok hin sil!" the dragon spoke.

"Zu'u Khazura! Nii los Zu'u wo fent hin sil! Faas zey, dovah! Zu'u hind wah mindok foraan do diil sivaas us sey!" Khazura shouted at it.

"You… You can understand the Dragontongue." Vilkas said amazed.

Khazura turned to him and unknowingly continued," Geh, bron. Zu'u vis tinvaak dovah tinvok. Hi nis seiluz niil vahlin, joor."

"Cat?" Vilkas asked. "You aren't speaking correctly."

Khazura nodded to him, but kept her eyes focused on the dragon.

"Zu'u Yolvolburlok!"

"That's one long name, dovah. Fire-chaos-sky?" Khazura muttered.

"Geh, dovahsil. Vahr dreh hi krif fah dilon lein?" Yolvolburlok taunted.

"Vahr dreh hi hind fah dilon truk wah lahneyh einzuk? Dii lein math lahney, dovah."

"Hi lost kuz zey uben wah folaas reid, joor. Vir los hin Thu'um ko grah, to?" Yolvolburlok said sagely.

Yolvolburlok landed on the ground, and Vilkas rushed at him.

"No! Vilkas he won't hurt us now!" Khazura shouted.

Vilkas skidded to a halt, and stared incredulously at Khazura, then to Yolvolburlok, and back to Khazura. Khazura only nodded, and Yolvolburlok lowered his neck down to the earth. She clambered on, and motioned for Vilkas to join her.

"Eh, he won't bite." Khazura said.

"To which are you addressing, dovahsil?" Yolvolburlok rumbled. "I may have visible teeth, but this grohiik has fangs as well."

Khazura laughed, and Vilkas glowered at her. He glared at the copper scaled dragon, and sighed.

"I guess this will be faster than me carrying you right?" Vilkas snapped to Khazura.

"Eh, miizun joor, laan mindin mal rek dovah…" Yolvolburlok rumbled, laughing a deep throaty sound.

Khazura's fur stood on end, and she smacked the dragon on the horn. Yolvolburlok chuckled again, waited for Vilkas to clamber on, and then launched into the clear azure blue.

"Careful, rek dovah. Hi fent das tarvok mindin viing." Yolvolburlok warned.

"I already have dreamed of the skies, Yolvolbur." Khazura sighed wistfully. "Yes, I have given you a nickname. Your name is far too long, friend."

Wing beats filled the sky, and Yolvolbur roared his new pride of his friendship. A dragon changing sides of a battle was rare, especially from Alduin's side to a mortals. Mere minutes had passed when Whiterun loomed above them, but Khazura no longer felt small next to the keep. Heat radiated off of Yolvolbur and Khazura yawned with fatigue. The sun sank below, and darkness fell upon Khazura's shoulders like a mantle.

"Malvokunkaaz ought to be your name, little one." Yolvolbur murmured.

"Little-shadow-cat? But I am dragon souled not just any normal Khajiit…" She yawned.

Vilkas had gone quite a while ago, but when Whiterun was almost below the dragon, he spoke out. He said they had to land, so Yolvolbur circled lazily by the farms. His tail shot up in the air as they landed, and the two slid off his neck.

"Malvokunkaaz, only speak my name as you would a Shout, and I will come. My trust is yours. I see now, that it always has been, and Alduin I only served out of fear of him. He can eat dragon souls as well as mortals…"

"Will you swear by Akatosh?" Khazura said sternly.

"Ah. A true dovah, even if you have no wings. You are more like a dovah than you realize, I think. But yes, I shall." Yolvolbur agreed.

"Naal sos do Akatosh, bormah, Zu'u vaat wah hi Zu'u fent kos nau hin reid. Zu'u fent kos hin bildiik, hin lovaas, hin viing. Aal Akatosh kuz zey waan Zu'u kren daar grin do sos ahrk Thu'um." Yolvolburlok swore.

"Zu'u gevild hi wah un grin, ahrk Zu'u vermiir dii sossedov wah hin, ful mu fent kos ol gein do dovah mahfaeraak. Dii sos hin, hin vungol. Aal Akatosh gevild mii ko ok viing mahfaeraak." Khazura sighed, while slashing her palm.

Yolvolbur cut the tip of his wing, and blood oozed out. Khazura pressed her palm to his wing, and a small flash of orange suffused to two, completing their vows of bondage.

"You are on my side, and I yours." Khazura stated.

Vilkas had left, and Khazura trudged up the hill, while Yolvolbur launched back into the sky, leaving the Khajiit to return to Jorrvaskr. Khazura made it back inside, and went straight down to the whelps' quarters, too tired to answer anyone's question. Darkness overcame her, and she welcomed it eagerly.

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**Well! How did you like Yolvolburlok? I loved him. I love the reddish copper dragons, especially with their yellow-black striped wings. Anyways, he's not the only dragon who will bond with Khazura… R&R please! Also, please read the translations… It took me a while, and it actually means a lot.**

* * *

"Dovahkiin! Alduin laan hi dilon! Zu'u los ok aar, wo fent drun mok hin sil." = Dragonborn! Alduin wants you dead! I am his servant, who shall bring him your soul!

"Zu'u Khazura! Nii los Zu'u wo fent hin sil! Faas zey, dovah! Zu'u hind wah mindok foraan do diil sivaas us sey! = I am Khazura! It is I who shall take your soul! Fear me, dragon! I wish to know the now dead beast before me!

"Geh, bron. Zu'u vis tinvaak dovah tinvok. Hi nis seiluz niil vahlin, joor." = Yes, Nord. I can talk in the dragon language. You cannot fathom its majesty, mortal.

"Geh, dovahsil. Vahr dreh hi krif fah dilon lein?" = Yes, dragon soul. Why do you fight for a dead world?

"Vahr dreh hi hind fah dilon truk wah lahneyh einzuk? Dii lein math lahney, dovah."= Why do you wish for a dead thing to live again? My world lives now, dragon.

"Hi lost kuz zey uben wah folaas reid, joor. Vir los hin Thu'um ko grah, to?"= You have taken me over to the wrong side, mortal. How are you at Shouts, though?

"Careful, rek dovah. Hi fent das tarvok mindin viing." Careful, she dragon. You shall soon want after wings.

"Naal sos do Akatosh, bormah, Zu'u vaat wah hi Zu'u fent kos nau hin reid. Zu'u fent kos hin bildiik, hin lovaas, hin viing. Aal Akatosh kuz zey waan Zu'u kren daar grin do sos ahrk Thu'um." = By the blood of Akatosh, the father, I swear to you I shall be on your side. I shall be your defender, your voice, your wings. May Akatosh take me if I break this bond of blood and Thu'um.

"Zu'u gevild hi wah un grin, ahrk Zu'u vermiir dii sossedov wah hin, ful mu fent kos ol gein do dovah mahfaeraak. Dii sos hin, hin vungol. Aal Akatosh gevild mii ko ok viing mahfaeraak." = I hold you to our bond, and I draw my dragon blood to yours, so we shall be as one dragon forever. My blood yours, yours mine. May Akatosh hod us in his wings and light forever.


	11. Chapter 11

**Ah… I just wanted to thank my followers (and not followers) for reading! It makes me so happy that people actually like my story…**

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Chapter 11: Sossedov

Khazura woke to a clean bed, and candlelight amongst the room. She snuggled deeper into her sheets, until she realized that all the whelps were in bed too. Sighing with frustration, she got up to blow out the candles, and noticed her leather armor poking out from under her bed. Khazura pulled it all on, realizing sleep wouldn't become her now. She silently strung her bow onto her back, and equipped her dagger. She slid outside of the long hallway, and into the mead hall. It was dark, except for the dying embers of the hearth. Khazura left the mead hall, and shivered in the cold exterior.

"Cold…" She muttered.

The city was asleep, and nothing moved except for the occasional changing of the guard posts. Khazura avoided them all, and made her way down to the main gate. Because the regular guard posted there, Khazura had to be extremely careful to not have him notice her. She quickly opened the gate and ran as fast as she could out to the stables. She sped off to a large open space, large enough for a dragon to land with extra room. Khazura prepared herself, and called upon her knowledge of Shouts.

"Yol… Volbur… Lok!" She Shouted.

The name echoed across the open plain, and Khazura was sure some other dragon had heard it instead of Yolvolburlok. Khazura climbed up a tree and waited for something to happen. Her blood was exhausted from the Shout, and Khazura was surprised that it took so much energy for a name. While she was pondering this in her tree, winds swept up dead leaves and swirled them into the air. A roar reverberated in the sky, and Khazura watched a dragon shape hurtle towards her. Masser and Secunda were waning that night, so Khazura anxiously hoped the thin moonbeams would cast a glimmer of light onto the dragon's scales. The dragon had avoided the moons' lights, but as it grew closer, Khazura's heart settled. It was indeed Yolvolbur.

"Ah, good. I was hoping that would work." She chirped.

Yolvolbur circled around the plain, and descended gracefully. He eased into a comfortable position and curled his tail around his body.

"Drem Yol Lok, Malvokunkaaz. Hi lost braag zey." Yolvolburlok greeted her.

"Hi lost drehlaan dii for. Grin nex mii los sahlo, to. Vahr los tol, fahdon?" Khazura called from her tree.

"We can speak as the joore do, fellow dovah. I understand your tinvok well enough."

"Ah. I just feel that I must speak that way…" Khazura muttered.

"But yes, our bond will be weak. After all, we only shared blood last night. It hasn't been a full sun cycle."

"Do dovah normally share blood?" she questioned.

"No. Normally our word shall suffice, except for Alduin. He required us in the hatchling days of mortals to share blood and words. He was… careful. But it seems dragons can break free of him. I do not know why. It is supposed to be unbreakable."

"Well, I guess not." Khazura giggled. "We may have more dragons on our side than his!"

"I do not think so, Dovahkiin. It was rare for me to join your side. I still do not know why I did…" Yolvolbur rumbled.

"Yolvolbur, I want to feel the sky again. Let us fly together."

Khazura scrambled down her tree, and up into Yolvolbur's neck ridges. She fit inbetween his short neck spikes, and she sighed contently.

"Bo! Bo! Zu'u hind wah fraan ven nau dii viing!" Khazura shouted with glee.

"Geh, Malvokunkaaz. In time…"

He lifted his wings, and launched into the night sky. Khazura whooped with joy as the wind blew her hair and tail around in the air. Yolvolbur noticed her happiness and climbed higher in altitude increasing Khazura's euphoria.

"Higher! Higher!"

"No, Malvokunkaaz. Your joor body cannot handle it. Krosis. Apologies… Your sil wants to fly, but you cannot." Yolvolbur apologized.

"Where are we going?" Khazura shouted.

" Where ever- Hold on. I hear a voice, dovahsil. Do you hear it?"

Khazura strained to hear, and a voice was screaming at her. An arrow launched into flight, and pierced her arm. She screamed in pain, and Yolvolbur roared his anger. A red and black clad man was shooting volleys of arrows at her.

"Another assassin! Yolvolburlok, burn him!" Khazura screamed.

Yolvolbur flew low to the ground, and let out a stream of acrid fire that burned the assassin. A shriek came from the charred assassin. He continued to fire arrows at her, determined to bring her with him to the grave.

"If… I die… so will you!" The assassin made out.

Yolvolbur stopped midflight, hovering in the air, and a torrent of fire, stronger than before burst through his maw setting the assassin alight. This time, the assassin gave no vocalism as he died. He glared wrathfully at Khazura until the light in his eyes burned out.

Yolvolbur landed away from the burnt corpse. He warned Khazura not to go near, but Khazura jumped off anyways.

"Zu'u vahzah dovah! I fear no fire burnt mortal! Sithis has taken his soul already!" Khazura declared.

"And, how do you know Sithis is real?" a cool voice spoke.

Khazura spun around, and saw a dark bloodstained armored woman standing by the edge of the forested hills. A hand was imprinted on the pauldron on her shoulder, and was laced with darker leather. Her build was similar to that of a Bosmer, but a little taller than they normally were, almost like that of Taelin. An ebony bow pulsed with maroon, and black arrows were in the woman's quiver. A lengthy, serrated sword had the same make of red and black colors, and shivers ran up Khazura's spine.

"Who are you? And were you the one who warned me? You are armed to the teeth, why would you save me?" She questioned.

The strangely familiar woman laughed, "Oh, little Khazura. Surely you recognize me! I am only clad in different armor…"

Khazura's eyes widened, and she stuttered.

"T… Taelin? Is… no. You aren't… You can't… You were in Whiterun! I saw you!" She gasped.

"I am good in Illusion magic, Khazura. I am not ignorant. I saw this assassin crouching in the woods, while I was out hunting, and tried to warn you." Taelin said warmly.

"But… You're dressed weird. Why are you dressed like that if you were only hunting? And why use those… those weapons?"

"These are Daedric weapons. I… got them from the Oblivion Crisis, Khazura. I am over two hundred years old. I was almost a Daedric Prince, too… I am the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, as well as the Gray Fox. Well, I was all of those titles, once. I saved Cyrodiil… that was a lifetime ago. My full name is Taelashin, but I go by Taelin. I had a brother named Vyarl, but you know him as Sheogorath. He took on godhood instead of me. He didn't want that for me. He said I needed to go live my life, instead of fading away after all I had done. Funny, I guess. I see him all the time, and remember who he was, but he doesn't. At least, I don't think he does. It has been painful for me. My whole life has been painful. My love died, I went through the planes of Oblivion, and my Emperor died in front of me. I have seen things grown men would cry from. I once was told my blood would share the Dragon's and I see it now. You, Khazura. You are my blood, in a way."

Silence spread over the whole plain, not a sound heard accept for the occasional breath from Yolvolburlok. Khazura opened her mouth, and then shut it, gaping like a fish.

"I'm not related to you…" She squeaked.

"Well, technically no. I once met a dragon in hiding, not that you would know them, and, well… I was drunk, okay? And he bonded with me… I don't even know how I could, since I'm not Dragon blooded, but we did. I… had just lost my love, and he comforted me with words of kindness. His name was Bahrellokah. A strange name, even for a dovah. Anyways, he gifted me with the blood of the dragons, and I can Shout. I am not naturally gifted like you, but… I share the blood and so do you. I consider you my sister, and I guess that would count for the blood thing. I could be wrong though. The man who told me died several minutes after telling me." Taelin sighed.

"You… can Shout? But you are no Dovahkiin." Khazura said, shocked.

"I can Shout, and have sossedov, but I am no Dragonborn. No, I am a hybrid creature. Not human, not god, not dragon. I am a mixture. The gods must have laughed at me when they saw my future." Taelin muttered.

"Yolvolbur, how is this possible?"

"The sharing of blood is possible with no mortal. But, if you had the mark of a god already, or the mark of the Dread Father, you could live. I assume you are both, Fahliil… But you are not that. Your name is different… Your soul has claimed that of a dragon's! You are a dovah, but joor, at the same time. Have you dreamed of the winds of Monahven?" Yolvolbur asked.

"Geh. I understand the tinvaak of the dovah, friend."

"Yes… you have. Your name… it cannot be… Rekmalrah. You are a female dovah!"

"Geh."

"What am I? Just a female mortal, with a male dragon soul? That isn't fair!" Khazura whined.

Yolvolbur turned his head to her, and gazed at her. Wisps of orange embraced her, and a roar, different than Yolvolbur's came forth.

"No, you are a female dovah. I do not understand. This is impossible. You must speak to another dovah, more knowledgeable than I."

"We do not have wings, friend. You do though."

"But, you are the Hero of Kvatch? And the Champion of Cyrodiil?" Khazura asked meekly.

"Truly. And also I was the Listener… and the Gray Fox. Do… do you still trust me? I am a murderer and a thief, considered to others outside my family. Except, my family is dead. All but one… Sheogorath." Taelin whispered.

The Dragonborn and Hero of Kvatch clambered gracefully onto Yolvolbur's back, and lifted into the air. Yolvolbur flew with urgency, ascending into the sky, hoping if seen to be mistaken for a small bird, while maintaining a height that had enough air for the two on his back. Half an hour passed, and the trio was cresting a small craggy mountain and Yolvolbur landed on a large ledge with a gigantic hole gaping in the side. It was almost invisible from the side, and could only be seen from the air.

"We shall rest here. It is early morning, and you are fatigued. I have animal pelts you can sleep on. I shall sleep in the center, and it will become quite cold for you, I believe. You may curl up under my wings, my friends. I am naturally warmer than your bodies. Sleep now, children of the sky. Rest, and join me in the sky tomorrow." Yolvolbur said, inclining his head.

The Khajiit and Bosmer searched the large cavern for animal pelts, and found soft deer furs, rabbit, and sabre cat. They piled them in a large heap in a dip in the rocky ground next to Yolvolbur. He was already asleep, large whooshes of air flowing out of his mouth. The women curled up next to him and fell into warm bliss.

* * *

Khazura woke that morning, feeling strangely different. A stag horned man stood in front of her, a large grin plastered on his face.

"Wake up, little dragon! Well, you're not so little anymore… Look at yourself! A beautiful sight, dear! A combination of power let you take this form, from ol' Sheo, Molag Bal, Nocturnal, and of course, me! Oh, and Taelashin is like this too, dear." Hircine giggled.

Khazura cocked her head, and found it strangely heavier. Her eyes focused on her tail, which was plated in scales and tipped in a sword-like formation.

"What in Oblivion!?" Khazura cursed.

"Oh, yes dear. You are a dragon now. A true dovah… And, quite female. You better not let Molag Bal see you, little dragon. You can be one at will, whenever you want. This may seem like a dream, but it isn't. You are a winged beauty. Ah, dark grey scales, with white wings streaked with ebony black. Gorgeous! Oh, the Divines must be laughing now. You are much different than any other dragon out there, aside from you being a girl. You are more cat-like than they are. But, of course, only dragons will be able to see that difference. Be careful with your power dear! You're young!" Hircine laughed, fading back into Oblivion.

"What in all of the planes of Oblivion! I'm... I'm a dovah!" Khazura shrieked.

"Taelin! Taelin wake up!"

A pale winged dragon stirred from its sleep, raising a pale golden head. It yawned, and sighed, tucking its head back under its wing. Taelin, Khazura assumed, was this dragon, and she nudged her again. Taelin growled at her, and tucked her wings closer to her body. She had slender, slightly curved horns that were the color of rich cream, not white, but not peach. Khazura wondered what her horns were like, and sighed. She shuffled back towards Yolvolbur, who was asleep, and head butted him as hard as she could. He woke with a roar, and Taelin woke up in a flash.

"What is it? Wait... who are you? What have you done with my mortal keeps?" Yolvolbur roared at Khazura.

"Well, I didn't know I was that terrifying to you, Yolvolbur." Khazura laughed.

"What? You are a dovah! Malvokunkaaz, you are... magnificent! You have shadow colored scales, silver-gray horns, and black streaks on your wings, like I do. Also, your wing membranes are white... I have never seen such a slender tail! It will be very good for you!" Yolvolbur marveled.

Taelin gawked at her, her jaws hanging wide open. Her mouth snap shut, and she noticed she was quite different as well.

"You too? How are you now dovah?" Yolvolbur gasped.

"What do I look like?" Taelin demanded.

"You are pale gold, with cream horns, white wings, with even whiter swirls on them. You are beautiful as well! You both have such skinny tails, but powerful bodies! And you are only just a bit smaller than us males are..."

"Hmm."

"Hircine, Molag Bal, Nocturnal, and Sheogorath did this. I do not know why, but they did." Khazura informed them.

"Let us fly!" Taelin said with glee.

"Wait! I'm hungry!"

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**Short chapter! Sorry… how do you like this, huh? Khazura won't use it that often… or will she? Well, if you don't like, R&R. Was this too early? Should she have killed more dragons first? Too bad! It's written!**

"Hi lost braag zey." = You have called me.

"Hi lost drehlaan dii for. Grin nex mii los sahlo, to. Vahr los tol, fahdon?" = You have come. The bond between us is weak, though. Why is that?

"Bo! Bo! Zu'u hind wah fraan ven nau dii viing!" = Fly! Fly! I want to feel the wind on my wings!

Vahzah= True

Geh= Yes


	12. Chapter 12

**How was my last chapter? Did you like it? I hope so…**

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Chapter 12: Lessons of the Sky

"Oh, little one. You can catch your own prey now." Yolvolbur laughed.

Khazura scowled at him, and hissed. Her scale plates rustled and she slithered out of the cave and launched into the air. Her wings beat weakly, and her body dropped instantaneously. Yolvolbur was shouting at her, and he quickly flew out to her falling figure. He glided below her, supporting her weight and the two turned around slowly, heading back to the cave.

"Why did you fly? I only said that in jest, Malvokunkaaz. I shall help you fly and hunt for yourself. Of course, Taelin must learn as well. You cannot leave the nest, and neither can she. You would be slaughtered if you came across mortals or another dragon." Yolvolbur chided.

"Doesn't every dovah learn themselves? Just because-" Khazura started.

"No. It is better if I am there. You are not used to this body, whereas every other is born into this life. You are special." He interrupted.

Taelin had only helplessly watched as Khazura had rashly flown out of the cave opening. Her golden head was tipped towards the sky, inhaling the fresh air, but unable to fly in it. The pair had awkwardly landed, with Khazura tumbling off of Yolvolbur's back, and she was sprawled across the earthy ground.

"I am never going to fly…" Khazura grumbled.

"Does a newborn bird fly? No! It takes time... Prem. Patience." Yolvolbur said sternly.

"I am hungry! I want food, now!" She said, glaring at Yolvolbur.

"Geh. Vutharaak… waan mu laan wah fon med saad dovah, mu kend lahney nivos. Waan aanvorey dovah meyz, sed do mii ko gein staad los vorpaal. It is unlikely for three dragons to be in one cave together. Zu'u fent mind hi wah bo dahsul." Yolvolbur instructed.

"Yes! Taelin, we get to fly today!" Khazura exclaimed.

" I know. Remember, I can understand dragon…"

"Yeah, but still…"

"Raise your wings. You too, Taelin." Yolvolbur told them.

They obeyed, and readied themselves. He gave instructions to the pair, and soon Khazura was flapping her wings madly, until Yolvolbur told her to stop wasting energy. She evened out her wing beats, and found herself floating amongst the sky. She let out a triumphant roar, and turned in a perfect radius and gazed up at the early dawn. Taelin was flying perfectly, as if she had mastered the skill years ago.

"Malvokunkaaz, slow down! We must speak so, fly close to me." Yolvolbur roared over the winds.

Khazura slowed down, and easily maneuvered her way to his side. He slowed as well, and Taelin joined them.

"You must have your own lairs. Find mortals and command their souls to do your bidding. Have them carve out a word wall shape, and you can do the rest. You shall create your own cave with fire, or ice, whichever you prefer. I use fire, but others use ice. You will have names. Different than you have now. Choose a male sounding name, and live in seclusion for a while. You must live like true dovah, to understand yourselves, and heritage. Taelin, you will have a harder time, although you are god blessed."

"Zu'u Stinloknir." Taelin announced.

"That is a strong name, Stinloknir. Free-sky-hunt." Yolvolbur commented.

"Zu'u Zindrelsos."

"Do not be too cocky, Zindrelsos. It will be your undoing if a dragon challenges you."

" But I am the Dragonborn… I will be Triumph-dominate-blood." Khazura muttered.

"You are no longer Dragonborn, Khazura, or Malvokunkaaz. You are Zindrelsos."

"Go to the mortal city, change form, and tell them you must leave. Stinloknir, you must do the same. If you do not, well, they shall worry and look for you. I presume the male wolf will look for you. Ah, the meyus zokulaad joor. Rok hind rok vust lost hi."

"Nid rok drehni. Rok nid med Kaaz kiir grik ol Zu'u." Khazura snapped.

Yolvolbur shook with laughter, but spun around and left the two female dragons together. They descended and found themselves in a heavily forested area. Khazura continued north, and saw Dragonsreach poking towards the heavens. She circled a choice landing spot, and crashed to the ground ungracefully. She willed herself to be a Khajiit again, but nothing happened.

"Damn those Princes. They told me I could change at will."

Khazura watched the sky as she saw Taelin stretch her hind legs out towards the ground, and landed neatly. Khazura growled, and then saw Taelin's scales begin to shimmer, and then an elfin woman sat where Taelin was. She was fully clothed, and had all her weapons still tucked on her body.

"That's not fair! How did you do that?" Khazura called.

"Use your blood. Listen to it, and then force it to do your bidding. Change shape, and you shall find yourself a Khajiit again." Taelin replied.

Khazura nodded her head, then focused on her blood, and listened. Whispers flowed through her mind, rejoicing in its wholeness. She bended her form, folded it on itself, and then found herself cross-legged on the tundra moss. Her leather armor was equipped, and her bow, sword, and dagger were all in check.

"Well! Off to Jorrvaskr, I suppose." Khazura chirped.

The two challenged each other to a race, and Khazura happily agreed. She ran with the wind, using its push to speed her along. Taelin was ahead, but she didn't care. She was free. When they reached the city, everyone was bustling about, like any other day. Khazura crashed into Jorrvaskr, and found sleepy faces blearily snoring on the floor. The whole room was littered with slumbering people, the Circle piled into one large huddle. Aela was snuggled in the middle, with Farkas and Vilkas as her pillows. Skjor was snoring off to the edge of the group, and was holding a bottle of ale in his arms.

"What in all the were-" Khazura started.

Taelin cut her off with a silent swipe of her hands. She pulled a note from behind her back and placed it on the table. She swept out of the hall, pulling Khazura with her. The Companions stirred in the slight air change but settled back down once more. Taelin giggled once they had reached outside.

"Come on! I want to feel the wind again!" Taelin shrieked.

As soon as the guards were squinting to see the sprinting women, and turned away, Taelin transitioned into her draconic form. She roared her approval, and swam in the near honey colored sky. Khazura ordered her blood to carry into a dragon, hoping to be as graceful as Taelin was.

"I'm the Dovahkiin! I should be able to do this easily…" She growled.

She clenched up, and opened her eyes to see the sky clearer than ever. She grinned toothily, and launched into the air. Swinging into a different direction than Taelin was headed, she started off towards the north. Taelin was headed southeast, presumably to the amber colored forests of Riften. While gold reflected the sun, dark grey absorbed its light, and greedily drunk it in. Khazura inhaled the air, roaring her triumph of the wholeness of her being.

Her stomach rumbled, and she scanned the fast moving tundra. She saw a mammoth herd, and she flew lower, but decided for a smaller meal that would easily fit in her talons. An elk stag was grazing, not noticing its impending doom overhead. Khazura stealthily approached it and her legs struck out at the buck. It bellowed its fear, and tried to gore her with its horns. It failed, and Khazura carried the panicked beast towards a mountain crag. No ruins were in sight, and Khazura realized that she already knew how to breathe fire. She gently laid the unconscious deer on a ledge, hoping to keep it free from singing of her first flames. She inhaled quickly, and exhaled a hot stream of acrid flames, blasting a crater in the mountainside. She refined her jet of fire, and soon melted rock was dripping off of the side, and the snow sizzled on its surface.

She kept at her task, until she smelled musty air flowing out of her rocky hole. Sticking her head inside, she laughed at her luck. A natural cavern was inside, with trees growing in it, and a small pool of water. Khazura was in a cavern that was roughly about the size of the word wall room in Bleak Falls barrow. A flat boulder that would be good for sleeping was located by a copse of trees. She went out into the frigid exterior, but the cold unfazed her. She dragged the deer into her new den, and tore into it ravenously. Guts were hewn around the area, and Khazura decided she would toss any remains down the mountain. It was no use to keep bad food around, she decided.

"I am no longer myself. I am Zindrelsos. Alduin is not thuri, though. I am not his slave."

She rolled the deer carcass of the cliff, and curled up loosely onto her rock. It was cold, and she growled in annoyance. She blew light flames on it, and flopped back on, sighing contently at the resonating warmth. Blackness embraced her skull, and she floated into the void.

* * *

Sunlight warmed her skin, and Khazura yawned, exposing a slender tongue. She blinked twice, yawned again, and stretched out. She shook her neck, and spread her wings wide to release any crooks.

"Ah… This is the life I live now. I eat when I want, do what I will, and listen to nothing but the wind. This is good. No more bossing around by the Circle." She laughed.

Preparing for flight, she unfurled her leathery sails once more, and edged towards the entrance of her home. Khazura slid off the slick ledge, cursing sludge as she crashed into a tree. Her tail flicked around, smashing the powdered whiteness into the air, and she growled at it when it cooled her scales.

"Damn this snow. Besides, I am ready to fly, not bumble about like a empty-headed butterfly!" She cursed.

She raised her wings, and shot into the frigid air. Snowflakes flurried amongst the wind, and she wondered where she was headed. Her horns slightly shook in the wind, and Khazura sighed her frustration.

"I am going no where. I always had a certain quest or something…"

A baleful grinding of rocks disturbed the peace of the quiet, and Khazura glared at her surroundings, daring it to try and harm her. The odd noise repeated itself, albeit stronger, and directly below her belly. A mountain crag was underneath, and she began a predatory circle, investigating the peculiar sound. A dark shape was resting there, and Khazura assumed it was a man.

"You are quite right in that sense, Khazura. You have… a nice form for a dragon. Not so dreary and the same colors as the others. Oh, you must be wondering who I am, fanged one." A voice echoed to her ears.

Khazura roared her challenge to the man, but upon nearing his image, she shut her maw. The man was tall, unusually tall, even for a Nord, black horns curved inwards his face, and razor sharp fangs gracing his smile.

"I am Molag Bal, Daedric Prince of Domination. Heard of me perhaps? I invaded Tamriel about two centuries or so… Ah, how time flies for us immortals… Oh! I do ramble on about myself, don't I, fanged one…" He chuckled. "You, however, were transformed into a giant lizard by my powers and also quite a few others, but my help was the greatest, I believe. I am one of the most powerful Daedra you will ever meet, darling."

"Molag Bal? Why do you care about such a foolish mortal such as me? And I'll be keeping my soul though. Not yours." Khazura snorted.

"Oh, I like you. I think you'll have a harder time with Noc- oh… Hasty aren't we. Well, a certain Prince doesn't want you to know about them… Always the mysterious sort we are. Except Sanguine. He just wants your money or wine. Always. Never trust him!"

"Forgive me, but you haven't answered my question. I am a dragon now, and you helped me. Why?" Khazura shouted.

"Calm your scaly ass!" Molag Bal roared.

"Hi los meyus, orin fah vozahlaas!" She shot back.

"Calling a Daedric Prince foolish isn't wise in of it's self. But, you are right." Molag sighed. "I am far too tired to argue with you, dragon. Come back to mortal form, so we may discuss some topics."

Khazura warily hovered above the mountain peak, but she decided to land abruptly, causing Molag Bal to waver on his feet. She shimmered, commanded her blood to change, and she felt strangely affected by the Daedric Prince's presence.

"Close your eyes, mortal. I shall take you to Coldharbour."

Khazura opened her eyes to a luxurious stone floored room, with furs of all sorts draped on an ebon bed, carved with pale indigo flames wrapped around its posts. The bed was low to the floor, and pictures were hung neatly on walls. Furs also were sported on the floors as rugs, and Khazura sank her cold feet into the warm fur. Looking around, she spotted Molag Bal resting by a black flickering hearth, and Khazura expected frosty drafts of flame, but the flames still gave off heat.

"Come sit, fanged one. Ah, you are cold. I am surprised you can breathe as easily as I, but you are a dragon… The burning skies do not bother you."

He waved his hand, and a blue glittering clannfear was waiting by his side, cocking its head at Khazura. The way it moved reminded her of a bird, and she watched it, intrigued.

"Go warm the cat. This is a clannfear. It won't bite, I assure you."

The clannfear scampered over to Khazura, and curled around her, its sail on the end of its tail almost smacking her face. It purred slightly, and wriggled closer, its reptilian hide surprisingly warm. Her fur heated quickly, and the creature closed its eyes contentedly.

"Everyone says your realm is terrifying and dangerous, which I am sure it is, but this… this is nice. I like this clannfear thing, and what's its name?" She asked.

"His name? He doesn't have one, I suppose. You can name him, for he's yours. He isn't bound, but he'll do what you say, even die for you. I would advise you to keep him away from other mortals, for he is… larger than most of his kind, and mortals are afraid of Daedra, especially one as large as he."

"I… I don't know what to name him… Naming is heard." Khazura complained.

Molag chuckled, but soon gave a serious look to Khazura.

"Name him whatever you wish, but I must speak to you, not as a dragon, mortal, or Champion. You must understand, I am not giving you things just to win your favor, or adoration, which I do not need. I am the Lord of Domination, and I am being kind to you, I know not why. You are nice, yourself, but I have urgent news. Alduin is not the only threat to Tamriel right now. There is something moving in the shadows, unseen, and not even Meridia could see this force. I do not care about the realm of Tamriel itself, but I fear this thing won't just stop at Nirn. If it gains control over Oblivion, or the Void, dangerous things will happen. Sithis has been around before the dawn of time, before the birth of light and even shadows, but I fear he cannot protect the Void as well as he believes. I need you to find more about this threat, or all the realms could be destroyed…"

"What would you have me do, then? I haven't the slightest in what to do considering this. I mean, I am ten and three years of age! Thirteen! I am a mere child, up against foes I do not understand. I am young, and I don't want to die! Can you not see this? I have a whole life to live!" Khazura yelled.

Molag Bal sighed, and rubbed his brow. The clannfear glared at him, and then Khazura, and wiggled back into place. Khazura was shivering, and tears were welled up in her eyes, and she looked ready to burst into full dragon form just to protect herself from unseen dangers.

"Calm… I will help you, if I can. Do not forget, fanged one, that I am not the only Daedric Prince backing you. Sheogorath, Hircine, another, and I are protecting you, and Taelin. You have friends on this world, and you must realize you hold the fate of realms in your hands. I sense your weariness, and I shall send you back to the mortal plane if you desire. You may rest here, and remain in my realm for a time, or return now to your cavern."

"I… I want to stay here." Khazura sighed.

Molag Bal nodded, and scooped up the little Khajiit child in his arms, and lay her down on the elegant bed, while the clannfear launched up next to the girl, and curled up beside her. Molag sighed again, and left, needing to discuss the Dragonborn with the other Princes.

* * *

"Hircine! Sheogorath... Oh, you stay in your Ebonmere, silly woman. You aren't welcome right now." Molag growled.

A silky voice wrapped Molag Bal in a satin embrace causing his black mane to bristle at the sound.

"Oh dearest Molag… I wasn't going to attend your little party. I am quite comfortable lounging on my _bed_… I see you cannot use yours! A petty mortal resides in it! What would the others say?" the voice tsked.

"Shut your mouth, Thief-patron. I have no desire to speak with you."

"Just ignore her. Her version of the Hunt is quite unbecoming… Ravens do her dirty work, I say." Hircine said, while approaching in his massive wolf form.

"I see! Well, well… Are we all choosing a different form to be here at this splendid meeting? Fine! I shall be your worst nightmare!" Sheogorath boomed.

"Wait… I am afraid we must be leaving. I hear the horns of my werewolves, and axe men. I am sorry… Molag, you have a feisty dragon to attend to, and Sheo… I'm not going to start there." Hircine muttered.

"We only just arrived! Fine! You lot are unpredictable… Ta ta! See ya again! And I can't take out your eyes…"

* * *

**Sorry! Short, short chapter. And it's been along time since I've published. Life gets really busy, especially with school and all. I'll try to be better… Thanks for reading! R&R, please!**


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